Capturing the attitudes of adolescent males' towards computerised mental health help-seeking

Laura H. Clark, Jennifer L. Hudson*, Debra A. Dunstan, Gavin I. Clark

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    14 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Objective: Adolescent males are often reluctant to seek help for mental health problems. Computerised psychological treatment may be a more appealing method of psychological intervention for this population because it minimises many of the barriers to traditional treatment. However, it is not clear if current computerised mental health treatment programs both attract and engage adolescent males with anxiety disorders. A qualitative methodology was utilised to investigate adolescent males' attitudes to computerised mental health intervention generally and more specifically, computerised anxiety treatment programs. Method: The views of 29 adolescent males, both with and without experience of clinical anxiety symptoms, were elicited using semi-structured interviews and focus groups. Verbatim transcripts were analysed using content analysis. Results: The major themes identified related to computerised help-seeking involving "risk," "effort" and "the need for a human connection." Conclusion: The results of the study suggest that a number of barriers exist in relation to adolescent males utilising computerised mental health interventions, such as unfamiliarity with this form of help, perceived control over decision-making, effort involved and concerns around confidentiality. However, the findings also suggest that an increased awareness of computerised mental health help-seeking, facilitated through schools, parents or social media, also has the potential to increase formal help-seeking in this population.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)416-426
    Number of pages11
    JournalAustralian Psychologist
    Volume53
    Issue number5
    Early online date2018
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Oct 2018

    Keywords

    • adolescence
    • anxiety
    • help-seeking
    • information technology
    • males
    • mental health

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Capturing the attitudes of adolescent males' towards computerised mental health help-seeking'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this