Association between attitude toward seeking professional psychological help and mental health service need in college students: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: With growing attention and investment in the mental health of college students in China, the awareness of mental health among college students has increased to some extent. However, research on college students' need for mental health services remains rather limited. Purpose The present study explored the relationship between attitude toward seeking professional psychological help (ATSPPH) and mental health service need among college students, with psychological resilience as the mediating variable and gender as the moderating variable. METHODS: need among college students, with psychological resilience as the mediating variable and gender as the moderating variable. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted with 1205 college students from four universities in China. The Cognitive Attitude Questionnaire on Mental Health Services for College Students was used to assess attitude toward seeking professional psychological help (ATSPPH). Psychological resilience and mental health service need were measured using the Connor and Davidson's Resilience Scale and Mental Health Service Needs Scale, respectively. PROCESS macro models were used to analyze the mediating effects of psychological resilience and the moderating effects of gender on the relationship between ATSPPH and mental health service need. RESULTS: The results showed that ATSPPH, psychological resilience, and mental health service need were all significantly positively correlated. Mediation analysis showed that psychological resilience partially accounted for the association between ATSPPH and mental health service need among college students. Moreover, gender moderated the association between psychological resilience and mental health service need, with the effect of psychological resilience being stronger for males than for females. CONCLUSIONS: Psychological resilience links ATSPPH and mental health service need, and its impact varies by gender. These findings highlight the importance of fostering resilience and considering gender differences in campus mental health initiatives, with longitudinal research needed to confirm causal pathways.