How Medical Students' Compassionate Values Influence Help-Seeking Barriers

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Psychology
• Public Health

Background:

• Medical students and professionals often avoid psychological help due to high rates of psychiatric illness and associated stigma.
• This avoidance can negatively impact job performance and mental well-being.
• Compassionate values, focusing on others' wellness, may influence perceptions of psychological help-seeking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the association between medical students' compassionate values, stigma, and attitudes toward psychological help-seeking.
• Hypothesized that prioritizing compassionate values would correlate with less stigma and more positive help-seeking attitudes.

Main Methods:

• A survey was administered to 220 second-year medical students at Des Moines University.
• Validated measures assessed values, psychological distress, and stigma/attitudes related to psychological help.
• Data were collected anonymously via an online survey between January and March 2017.

Main Results:

• A 41% response rate yielded a final sample of 91 students.
• A one standard deviation increase in prioritizing compassionate values over self-interested values was associated with a 0.40 SD decrease in help-seeking stigma.
• This prioritization was also linked to a 0.23 SD increase in positive help-seeking attitudes.

Conclusions:

• Stronger prioritization of compassionate values over self-interested values is associated with more positive perceptions of psychological help-seeking among medical students.
• Findings suggest that fostering compassionate values may be a strategy to reduce stigma and encourage help-seeking in this population.