Willingness to seek professional help for a serious emotional problem
and feeling comfortable talking about personal problems with professionals were
significantly associated with future help seeking and treatment use. One-third
(33.4%) of participants who stated at baseline that they would "definitely go" to
a professional if they had a serious emotional problem sought future help,
compared with 20.7% of those who would "definitely not go." Corresponding values
were 33.4% and 24.4% for those who reported feeling "very comfortable" and "not
at all comfortable," respectively, talking about personal problems with a
professional. The associations were consistent among participants with and
without a history of help seeking and with and without mood, anxiety, or
substance use disorders during the follow-up. Embarrassment if friends found out
and beliefs about treatment effectiveness were not associated with future help
seeking or service use.