Understanding help-seeking intentions in male military cadets: An application of perceptual mapping

BMC Public Health

Research Article

Freda Patterson¹  Thomas F. Gordon²  Javier Muñiz³  Sarah Bauerle Bass³  Laurie Maurer³ 

[1] Department of Behavioral Health and Nutrition, University of Delaware, 026 North College Ave., Carpenter Sports Building, 19711, Newark, DE, USA;Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts-Lowell, 113 Wilder St., 01854-3059, Lowell, MA, USA;Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Temple University, College of Public Health, 1301 Cecil B. Moore Ave., Room 951, 19122, Philadelphia, PA, USA;

关键词: Perceptual Mapping;    Males;    Help-seeking;    Communication;    Perceived Control;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12889-016-3092-z

 received in 2015-10-20, accepted in 2016-05-10,  发布年份 2016

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundResearch suggests that men are less likely to seek help for depression, substance abuse, and stressful life events due to negative perceptions of asking for and receiving help. This may be exacerbated in male military cadets who exhibit higher levels of gender role conflict because of military culture.MethodsThis exploratory study examined the perceptions of 78 male military cadets toward help-seeking behaviors. Cadets completed the 31-item Barriers to Help Seeking Scale (BHSS) and a component factor analysis was used to generate five composite variables and compare to validated factors. Perceptual mapping and vector modeling, which produce 3-dimensional models of a group’s perceptions, were then used to model how they conceptualize help-seeking.ResultsFactor analysis showed slightly different groupings than the BHSS, perhaps attributed to different characteristics of respondents, who are situated in a military school compared to general university males. Perceptual maps show that cadets perceive trust of doctors closest to them and help-seeking farthest, supporting the concept that these males have rigid beliefs about having control and its relationship to health seeking. Differences were seen when comparing maps of White and non-White cadets. White cadets positioned themselves far away from all variables, while non-White cadets were closest to “emotional control”.ConclusionTo move these cadets toward help-seeking, vector modeling suggests that interventions should focus on their general trust of doctors, accepting lack of control, and decreasing feelings of weakness when asking for help. For non-White cadets a focus on self-reliance may also need to be emphasized. Use of these unique methods resulted in articulation of specific barriers that if addressed early, may have lasting effects on help-seeking behavior as these young men become adults. Future studies are needed to develop and test specific interventions to promote help-seeking among military cadets.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Bass et al. 2016