Date of Award

Spring 2015

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Communication

First Advisor

Maria K Venetis

Committee Chair

Maria K Venetis

Committee Member 1

Steve R Wilson

Committee Member 2

John O Greene

Abstract

Mental health concerns among college students are quite prevalent, but the help-seeking practices of this population are hindered by a variety of barriers. Help-seeking for mental health concerns in its earliest (and most common) form is ultimately information-seeking, which has been identified as a process with specific predictors that has the potential to lend structure to the myriad help-seeking barriers and facilitators. In an effort to apply and extend the Theory of Motivated Information Management (TMIM; Afifi & Weiner, 2004), the current study asked college students experiencing concerns for their mental well-being to report details of their circumstances. The results demonstrate some support for the TMIM in this context as well as the impact of important characteristics of mental health and interpersonal issues on the information-seeking process.

Download

Share

COinS