Professional help-seeking in undergraduate students: a scoping review

Various psychological problems experienced by students that cannot be handled alone require intervention from professionals. However, most students are often reluctant to ask for professional help. This scoping review aims to conduct a literature review on the development of research, measurement tools, determinant factors, and consequences of research professional help-seeking in undergraduate students. The research method employed a population, concept, and context (PCC) framework, drawing on data from six databases and one grey literature source. The databases were accessed on October 8, 2024, resulting in 28 articles that met the inclusion criteria. The study results showed the highest number of studies on seeking professional help in 2024. The United States had the most publications on seeking professional help. Professional help-seeking is often treated as a dependent variable, so there are still very few consequences associated with it. There are several determinants of seeking professional help among undergraduate students, categorized into facilitator, barrier, internal, and external factors. The most commonly studied factors include psychological distress, mental health literacy, stigma, demographics (specifically, gender), and accessibility. The measurement tools often used in seeking professional help are the ATSPPH-SF, GHSQ, and ISCI. The results of this study can serve as a basis for practitioners to develop interventions related to seeking professional psychological help, as well as for scientists researching related topics using proven instruments, determining factors, and testing the consequence of seeking professional help on undergraduate students as a measure to overcome students' reluctance to seek professional help, thereby improving the mental health of undergraduate students.