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Objective Untreated mental health (MH) concerns have significant implications for college students. This study examined the efficacy of a video contact intervention targeting students’ intentions to seek counseling. Participants: One-hundred and sixty-three college students (Mage = 21.05, SD = 2.20) from a Mid-Atlantic university participated. The sample was predominantly female (74%). Method: Students were randomly assigned to view a student-targeted contact video (ie, clips from college students who share their mental health experiences), a MH comparison contact video, or a non-MH comparison video. Intentions to seek counseling and psychological distress were measured pretest and post-test. Results: Intentions to seek counseling significantly increased from pretest to post-test in the student-targeted contact video condition (F1, 156 = 22.75, p < .001, partial η2 = .13), but not in the comparison conditions. Further, this effect was only observed among participants who reported preexisting psychological distress (F1, 153 = 28.00, p < .001, partial η2 = .16). Conclusions: This study provides initial support for the utility of a student-targeted contact intervention video for increasing help-seeking intentions among those reporting current psychological distress.
Kruger et al. (Mon,) studied this question.