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Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Hyperscanning Study in Psychological Counseling

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Published on: January 17, 2025

Help-seeking anxiety, psychological distress, and suicidal ideation among medical and nursing students: A

Kentaro Kawabe¹, Yu Matsumoto², Yasutaka Ihara³

¹Department of Child Psychiatry Ehime University Graduate School of Medicine Toon Ehime Japan.

PCN Reports : Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences

|June 29, 2026

Abstract

Aim:

Suicide among young adults has become a serious public health concern. In Japan, suicide is a leading cause of death among adolescents and young adults. Suicidal ideation is a clinically meaningful psychological burden among young adults. However, the associations of suicidal ideation with help-seeking anxiety, psychological distress, and subjective well-being among healthcare students have not been explored sufficiently. This study aimed to examine the cross-sectional associations of help-seeking anxiety, psychological distress, and subjective well-being with suicidal ideation among first-year healthcare students.

Methods:

A cross-sectional web-based survey was conducted among 142 first-year medical and nursing university students in Japan. Suicidal ideation was assessed using the Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire, psychological distress was assessed using the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale, subjective well-being was assessed using the World Health Organization 5-item Well-Being Index (WHO-5), and help-seeking anxiety was assessed using the Thoughts About Therapy Survey. Associations among help-seeking anxiety, psychological distress, subjective well-being, and suicidal ideation were examined using Spearman's correlation analysis and multivariable regression analyses.

Results:

Higher help-seeking anxiety was associated with higher levels of suicidal ideation and psychological distress. Psychological distress was also associated with suicidal ideation, whereas subjective well-being was not clearly associated with suicidal ideation. In the multivariable regression analyses, help-seeking anxiety remained associated with suicidal ideation after accounting for psychological distress and subjective well-being. Additionally, most students reported having someone to consult when experiencing distress; however, awareness of university mental health services was limited.

Conclusion:

These findings highlight suicidal ideation as a clinically meaningful psychological burden among first-year healthcare students and suggest that psychological distress and help-seeking anxiety are associated with suicidal ideation.

Keywords:

help‐seeking psychological distress suicidal ideation suicide prevention university students

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