Scale Description
ISCI
Intentions to Seeking Counseling Inventory (ISCI) A 17-item scale that measures participants’ intentions to seek psychological help or counseling services for a range of specified problems (e.g., weight control, excessive alcohol use, depression, test anxiety, loneliness) [25]. Items are rated on a 4-point Likert scale from “very unlikely = 1” to “very likely = 4”. The total score ranges from 17 to 68, with higher scores indicative of more likelihood of seeking counseling for the various issues [26-28]. Internal Consistency (Cronbach’s α): 0.90 in a previous study [28]
0.89 in the current study*
ATSPPH-SF
Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help short-form (ATSPPH-SF) It is a shortened 10-item revision scale of the original 29-item ATSPPHS designed to assess the multi-factorial nature of individuals’ attitudes towards seeking help for mental health issues [29]. Items are rated on a 4-point Likert scale from “disagree = 1” to “agree = 4”. The total score ranges from 10 to 40, with higher scores indicative of more positive attitudes towards getting professional help. Internal consistency (Cronbach’s α): 0.84 in the original study [29], 0.82 [30], 0.80 [31], and 0.77 [32] in other previous studies
0.80 in the current study*
SSOSH
Self-Stigma of Seeking Psychological Help ‘10-items’ (SSOSH) It is a 10-item self-report scale designed to assess the self-stigma associated with seeking psychological help [30]. Items are rated on a 4-point Likert scale from “disagree = 1” to “agree = 4”. The total score ranges from 10 to 40, with higher scores reflect more significant perceived self-stigma associated with seeking psychological help. Internal consistency (Cronbach’s α): 0.91 in the original study [30]
0.82 in the current study*
SSRPH
Social Stigma Scale for Receiving Psychological Help (SSRPH) It is a 5-item self-report scale designed to assess the perceived public stigma associated with seeking professional help [28]. Items are rated on a 4-point Likert scale from “disagree = 1” to “agree = 4”. The total score ranges from 5 to 20, and higher scores reflect more significant perceived public stigma associated with receiving professional psychological help. Internal consistency (Cronbach’s α): 0.72 in the original study [33], 0.76 [25] and 0.73 in other previous studies [28].
0.70 in the current study*, which makes the unidimensional factor structure of this scale uncertain. However, the authors decided to keep this scale for further analysis, and to repeat the analysis with its different items.
Cronbach’s α could not be improved by omitting any of the items. *Cronbach’s α could not be improved by omitting any of the items.