Overview
Adolescent help-seeking behavior is defined as the explicit expression by an adolescent of the need for assistance with an emotional or behavioral problem. First, in order to seek help, it is necessary for the adolescent to recognize his or her problem as a mental health concern. Seeking help also implies that the adolescent holds constructive cognitions, beliefs, and attitudes regarding the help he/she may receive. The adolescent must be convinced that the problem may be resolved or alleviated through an external intervention. Finally, seeking help requires the availability of helping agents or sources in the adolescent’s immediate environment.
Research on adolescent help-seeking behavior has been hindered by a lack of a unifying framework leading to a plethora of definitions of the help-seeking behavior construct. Existing investigations, however, have shown that many adolescents do not seek help when they are experiencing serious difficulties. When help is sought,...
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Husky, M. (2016). Help-Seeking. In: Levesque, R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Adolescence. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32132-5_285-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32132-5_285-2
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