Demographic correlates of attitude toward seeking professional psychological help.

Found that help-seeking orientation was unrelated to social class of origin (based on father's social position) in a total sample of student Ss (N = 989) and for high school Ss and college freshmen considered separately. Jewish Ss tended to express more positive attitudes than Catholics or Protestants. Variables pertinent to academic life, e.g., educational level and scholastic major, significantly differentiated attitudes toward seeking professional aid. Correspondence of attitude to education level was independent of age. Thus, the less favorable outlooks of students with less education are not attributable to proximity to parental values or to greater cynicism among newer students. Findings suggest that attitudes toward psychologists and psychiatrists as help sources are not as closely tied to socioeconomic class as has been indicated in earlier sociological studies. (16 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)