Oct 2026· Journal of American College Health· pp.
1-7
· 0 citations· 21 references
Medicine
Abstract
Objective
To develop a grounded theoretical understanding of how female college students navigate mental health help-seeking.
Participants
Twenty-two self-identified female undergraduate students aged 18-30 years from a public university in Canada.
Methods
A qualitative study using a constructivist grounded theory approach was conducted. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using constant comparative methods.
Results
Four themes were identified: self-reliance and self-help, nonprofessional support, semi-formal and integrated support, and professional support. Findings revealed that help-seeking is a dynamic and non-linear process, with students moving between multiple sources of support depending on their needs and context. Self-reliance often served as the initial step, while professional support was least utilized.
Conclusions
The diverse pathways of mental health support sources theory highlight the need for flexible, accessible, and integrated mental health systems that align with students' preferences and promote timely help-seeking.
Adolescents frequently experience mental health problems, yet many do not receive professional support, highlighting the need to understand their attitudes, barriers, and help-seeking intentions. Existing work has rarely combined mixed-method approaches using gender-varied vignettes spanning multiple disorder gro...
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