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College students’ attitudes, stigma, and intentions toward seeking online and face‐to‐face counseling
Author(s) -
Bird Matthew D.,
Chow Graig M.,
Yang Yanyun
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.124
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1097-4679
pISSN - 0021-9762
DOI - 10.1002/jclp.22956
Subject(s) - psychology , stigma (botany) , face to face , clinical psychology , help seeking , face value , social psychology , public university , psychotherapist , psychiatry , mental health , philosophy , epistemology , finance , public administration , political science , economics
Objective(s) To investigate differences in public stigma, self‐stigma, attitudes (value and discomfort), and intentions to seek help between online and face‐to‐face counseling. To identify a difference in the relationship between these variables and both counseling modalities. Method An online survey completed by 538 college students from one university in the Southeastern United States. The sample included 412 females and 126 males with a mean age of 20.21 years (standard deviation [ SD ] = 1.26). Results Significantly higher levels of self‐stigma and discomfort toward online counseling were reported. Significantly higher value and intentions were reported toward face‐to‐face counseling. Self‐stigma was positively related to public stigma, value was negatively related to self‐stigma, and intentions toward seeking help was positively related to value. Conclusions Results suggest face‐to‐face counseling is seen as a more favorable method of service delivery compared to online counseling. Value toward online counseling is an important predictor for seeking this type of help.