Attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help

In the past, attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help have been associated with a variety of demographic and experiential variables. This study firstly assessed the utility of a modified version of the Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help Scale (ATSPPH) as a research instrument in the New Zealand context. Secondly the study investigated the relationship between attitude and a series of classificatory variables.A cross-section of the community was obtained (n = 411) which varied across the variables of age, sex, cultural ties, education level, income level, prior contact with professionals, and how much money prepared to pay for the services. Included in the sample was a reference comparison group of psychological professionals. Factor analysis of the modified ATSPPH revealed a factor structure different from previous analyses, although similarities were evident. A series of ANOVAs found attitude to be highly predictable along the classificatory variables of age, sex, education level, prior psychological contact (and if so, the outcome of that contact), and how much money prepared to pay. Implications of this study are discussed in terms of future use of the ATSPPH and the attitudinal gap between the general population and psychological professionals