Self -Stigma and Attitudes towards Seeking Counselling Services among University Students

Abstract

Counselling services are fundamental services provided by the university to aid students in their learning process. Even so, student acceptance of counselling services remains moderate. Stigma, negative experiences, concerns about confidentiality, and the availability of alternative sources of support all contribute to many students' refusal to seek counselling to address personal and academic challenges. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between stigma and attitudes toward counselling among university students at Malaysia's National University (UKM). This study enrolled a total of 196 students. This quantitative study collects data via questionnaires. The Self-Stigma of Seeking Help Scale (SSOSH) is used to assess self-stigma, and the Attitudes Towards Seeking Professional Psychological Help Scale-Short Form (ATSPPHS-SF) is used to assess attitudes toward counselling. The study's findings indicated a significant negative correlation between self-stigma and willingness to seek counselling among the study subjects (r (196) = -.404, k.01). Self-stigma differences between male and female students were not significant (t = 2.459, df = 194, p.05). However, when attitudes toward counselling services were compared between genders, it was discovered that female students were more positive toward counselling services than male students (t = 2.459, df = 194, p.05). However, when self-stigma and attitudes toward counselling services were compared across fields of study, namely psychology and non-psychology, significant differences emerged. Students in psychology demonstrated lower self-stigma than students in other fields (t = 3.908, df = 194, p.05), as well as a more favourable attitude toward counselling than non-psychology students (t = 4.551, df = 194, p.05). There is also a discussion of the implications and strategies for expanding counselling services to university students.