Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 1, 2026

Treatment Model for Young Patients with Psychogenic Erectile Dysfunction and Resultant Infertility
Published on: May 30, 2025
The personal service gap: factors affecting adolescents' willingness to seek help
Amiram Raviv1, Alona Raviv, Idit Vago-Gefen
1Department of Psychology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel. raviv@post.tau.ac.il
Abstract:
The study explores adolescents' attitudes toward seeking help for emotional problems. The personal service gap is examined by asking adolescents about their willingness to refer themselves and others to formal (psychologists) and informal (friends) help sources, using a within-subjects design. The study included 662 Israeli adolescents in the 10th and 12th grades. The results indicate that adolescents refer peers more than themselves to a psychologist and to a friend. They are also more willing to refer themselves and peers to a friend rather than to a psychologist. Barriers to seeking psychological help are explored and significant correlations between perceptions of psychological benefit, problem severity and barriers to help seeking are described. Recommendations for increasing adolescents' awareness and use of help sources are suggested.
Related Concept Videos
Influence of Parents and Peers on Identity
Parental Influence on Identity Development
Parents serve as primary guides and managers in an adolescent's life, offering support instrumental in decision-making and personal growth. This guiding role...
Bystander Effect
Erikson's Theory on Socioemotional Development during Adolescence
Self-Evaluation: Self-Enhancement and Self-Verification
Sources of Self-Esteem I: Family Experience
Ethnic Identity within a Larger Culture