Investigation on the Attitude of Middle School Students with Depression in the City Toward Professional Psychological Help-Seeking

Na Yong,1 Yu-Ling Ren,2 Chun-Yuan Wang,3 Cong Yang4 1Mental Health Center, The Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, Sichuan, 637000, People’s Republic of China; 2Gao Ping Middle School, Nanchong, Sichuan, 637000, People’s Republic of China; 3Bai ta Middle School, Nanchong, Sichuan, 637000, People’s Republic of China; 4Long Men Middle School, Nanchong, Sichuan, 637000, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Na Yong, Mental Health Center, The Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, No. 1 Maoyuan South Road, Shunqing District, Nanchong, Sichuan, 637000, People’s Republic of China, Email nayong5000@163.comBackground: Many middle school students are depressed due to pressure from family, study, life, and communication. With the increasing depression of middle school students, professional psychological counseling institutions have also become more numerous. Therefore, students need to be guided to correctly recognize difficulties and seek professional psychological assistance.Aim: We aimed to investigate the depression status of middle school students in the city and analyze their attitude towards professional psychological help-seeking.Methods: A total of 2485 students from two classes of each grade from six middle schools in the city were randomly selected as the research objects. They were subjected to answer the general questionnaire and professional psychological help-seeking attitude questionnaire to analyze their depression status, psychological help-seeking status, and attitude towards professional psychological help-seeking.Results: 2485 questionnaires were distributed, and 2205 valid questionnaires were returned. A total of 791 (35.9%) of students had depressive symptoms. The detection rate and depression scores in girls were significantly higher than in boys, and the detection rate in junior high school students in the city was notably higher than in high school students and students from rural areas (P< 0.05). Only 31 (3.9%) middle school students with depressive symptoms have sought professional psychological help. The scores of self-cognition, stigma tolerance, interpersonal openness, and trust scores of middle school students with depressive symptoms in help-seeking attitude were significantly lower than those of normal students, while self-stigma scores were significantly higher in those with depressive symptoms (P< 0.001).Conclusion: Middle school students in the city with depression have a poor attitude towards professional psychological help-seeking. Educators should positively and correctly guide depressed middle school students to seek professional psychological assistance when they need help.Keywords: city, depression status, middle school students, professional psychological help-seeking, attitude