From the abstract: "the current study provides a
n
analysis of
homeless and runaway youths'
attitudes
towards mental health servic
es
in
order to identify possible factors t
hat can
assist service
providers with understanding and increasing service
engagement
.
V
ariables examined
included help seeking propensity, psychological
openness
,
concern for
mental health
stigma, parental maltreat
ment, street victimization and
services n
eeds assessment.
The
current study also examines
the relationship between
social support
and
attitudes toward
mental health services.
A
comparison sample of
housed
youth
was obtained
in order to
de
termine if
mental health
attitudes
are unique
to
homeless y
outh.
Fifty
-
six youth who identified as homeless
were
recruited
through youth drop
-
in
centers and
a shelter
in
Northern California
,
and
97
housed
youth were
recruited
from
alternative
community
continuation
schools
in the same region
.
A
nalys
is
of
v
ariance
iii
showed that
homeless and housed groups
did not
differ
significant
ly
on
attitudes
toward
mental health services, help seeking propensity, psychological openness, and concern for
mental health stigma
.
Additional f
indings revealed that
, for homeless youth,
t
he
more
perceived friend support
, the
more their
concern
for
mental health stigma
decreased
and
the
more
supportive individuals
available
,
the more positive
attitudes toward mental
health services and
help seeking propensity
increased
.
Comparison
of correl
ations
between
homeless and housed
groups revealed
only one significant difference;
the
association
between perceived family support and help seeking propensity was strongest
for the housed group
than for the homeless group
.
Results demonstrate
d
that home
less youth and housed youth share similar
attitudes toward mental health services
, help seeking propensity, psychological openness,
and c
o
ncern for mental health stigma.
Mean scores
obtained on these measures
were
comparable
to the only existing study on