Mental Health Literacy, Self-Stigma, and Depressive Symptoms on Help-Seeking Intentions in Korean Adolescents: The Mediating Role of Help-Seeking Attitudes

Abstract

Purpose: This study examined the effects of mental health literacy, self-stigma, and depressive symptoms on help-seeking intentions among Korean adolescents, with a focus on the mediating role of help-seeking attitudes.Methods: A cross-sectional path analysis was conducted with 504 adolescents aged 24 years or younger(203 middle and high school students, 301 university students). Online surveys administered from October 2021 to May 2022 assessed the study variables using validated scales, and bootstrapping tested the significance of direct, indirect, and total effects.Results: The final model showed acceptable fit (x2=2.84, p=.242, CFI=1.00, TLI=.99, RMSEA=.03, SRMR=.01). Help-seeking attitudes were influenced by mental health literacy (β=.11), self-stigma (β=-.40), and depressive symptoms (β=-.14), and in turn had the strongest effect on help-seeking intentions (β=.53). Self-stigma showed the largest total effect (β=-.39), whereas mental health literacy and depressive symptoms affected intentions only indirectly, through attitudes. The model explained 39.4% of the variance in help-seeking intentions.Conclusion: Help-seeking attitudes emerged as the central mechanism linking these factors to help-seeking intentions, with self-stigma showing the strongest overall influence. Interventions should therefore move beyond knowledge transfer and focus on reducing self-stigma while promoting more favorable help-seeking attitudes.