Self-Efficacy and Mental Health Help-Seeking Attitudes Among Pakistani Youth: A Cross-Sectional Study of the Mediating Role of Self-Stigma

A considerable proportion of the world's population of mental disorders has been carried by young people and most of them is not seeking help from professionals. This cross-sectional study sought to determine whether there is a relationship between self-efficacy and favorable views toward obtaining professional psychological treatment among Pakistani youth, as well as whether self-stigma of requesting help serves as a mediator between the two. A total of 412 university students and young people aged 18–25 (54.4% female) completed the General Self-Efficacy Scale, the Self-Stigma of Seeking Help Scale, and the Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help Scale–Short Form. When controlling for age, gender, residence, and past help-seeking, hierarchical regression showed that self-efficacy predicted more positive views about help-seeking β =.29, p <.001, ΔR² =.08. This relationship was partially mediated by self-stigma indirect effect = 0.084, 95% CI 0.050, 0.121 with approximately 32% of the total effect. There was no difference in the association between males and females. Women were more likely than men to exhibit positive views, and previous help-seeking was a significant predictor. The results indicate that a positive feeling of competence in coping and acting is associated with professional care acceptability, which may be mediated by lower self-stigma. Promoting self-efficacy and mitigating social stigma may boost service use among youth in Pakistan and other contexts.