TY - JOUR
T1 - Help-Seeking Attitudes of United Arab Emirates Students
AU - Heath, Patrick J.
AU - Vogel, David L.
AU - Al-Darmaki, Fatima R.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© Division of Counseling Psychology of the American Psychological Association.
PY - 2016/4
Y1 - 2016/4
N2 - The psychological help-seeking patterns of college students in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have only recently begun to be examined. Initial suggestions indicate that the majority of Emirati students treat help seeking from counselors as a last resort, which may be linked to aspects of Emirati culture including feared loss of societal face, stigma associated with seeking help, and discouragement of self-disclosure to individuals outside of the family. The relationship among fear of losing face, stigma, self-disclosure expectations (i.e., risks and benefits), and help-seeking attitudes was examined using structural equation modeling with 407 Emirati college students. Loss of face and stigma were related to self-disclosure expectations, which in turn were related to help-seeking attitudes. Gender differences were also examined with results indicating significant mean differences across all variables, as well as across two paths of the structural model. These findings are discussed within the cultural context of the UAE.
AB - The psychological help-seeking patterns of college students in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have only recently begun to be examined. Initial suggestions indicate that the majority of Emirati students treat help seeking from counselors as a last resort, which may be linked to aspects of Emirati culture including feared loss of societal face, stigma associated with seeking help, and discouragement of self-disclosure to individuals outside of the family. The relationship among fear of losing face, stigma, self-disclosure expectations (i.e., risks and benefits), and help-seeking attitudes was examined using structural equation modeling with 407 Emirati college students. Loss of face and stigma were related to self-disclosure expectations, which in turn were related to help-seeking attitudes. Gender differences were also examined with results indicating significant mean differences across all variables, as well as across two paths of the structural model. These findings are discussed within the cultural context of the UAE.
KW - UAE
KW - help seeking
KW - loss of face
KW - self-disclosure
KW - stigma
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U2 - 10.1177/0011000015621149
DO - 10.1177/0011000015621149
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:84966669647
SN - 0011-0000
VL - 44
SP - 331
EP - 352
JO - Counseling Psychologist
JF - Counseling Psychologist
IS - 3
ER -