Abstract Background Undergraduate students in the UK experience elevated rates of mental health difficulties but often face barriers to accessing formal support. Personal support networks – the friends, family, and other social ties students rely on - may play a critical role in promoting good mental health and guiding effective help-seeking. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between support network structure, perceived support availability, and mental health outcomes and help-seeking intentions among UK undergraduate students. Methods A cross-sectional survey was completed by 287 undergraduates from 68 UK universities. Participants reported the size of their support network, relationship durations, relationship diversity, and support diversity using a modified Perceived Support Network Inventory. Perceived support was assessed using the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Depression and anxiety were measured with the PHQ-9 and GAD-7, and help-seeking intentions with an adapted General Help-Seeking Questionnaire. Associations were examined using Spearman’s rank-order correlational analyses and four multiple linear regression models. Results Larger, longer-standing, and more diverse networks were positively associated with higher levels of perceived support. Perceived support predicted less severe depression and anxiety symptoms, independent of network structure. Students with higher perceived support were more likely to seek informal help and less likely to seek formal help. Network structural features generally did not predict help-seeking, although greater support diversity was associated with lower intention to seek informal help. Conclusions Perceived availability of support, rather than structural characteristics of support networks, was the primary factor linked to improved mental health and help-seeking preferences. Strengthening students’ perceived support may be critical for promoting resilience and encouraging appropriate help-seeking behaviour.
Vicary et al. (Tue,) studied this question.