Attitudes and Professional Help-Seeking Motivation Towards Mental Health of Selected SHS Students

Despite the large body of knowledge on adolescent mental health, their professional help-seeking behaviors remain underexplored. This descriptive cross-sectional survey research explores the professional help-seeking behavior of 300 Senior High School student adolescents, specifically, the demographic profile, attitudes, and motivations. The findings highlight that only 8.7 percent of the sample has previously sought professional help. In comparison, 38.3 percent reported having current mental health concerns. Results show that the competence to seek professional help affects the respondents' professional help-seeking motivation, with the highest weighted average mean of 3.25. Most respondents exhibit positive affect and cognitive attitudes regarding professional help seeking attitudes, indicating favorable behavior. At a 5% significance level (p<.05), there is no significant difference in the respondents' professional help-seeking attitudes when grouped according to their demographic profile. Furthermore, using a standardized scale, more appropriate probability sampling, and conducting a larger sample size are discussed to improve the study.