Kumpulainen, Federica (2020) The mediating effect of self-reliance on help-seeking behaviour and age in rural Australia. Honours thesis, University of Southern Queensland. (Unpublished)
Abstract
Current research has indicated that older adults present a high threshold for seeking professional psychological help. These figures are exacerbated in rural communities due to psychological constructs, such as self-reliance. The same construct has also been identified as part of the culturally ingrained values of Australian rural and remote communities, named ‘country-mindness’. This cross-sectional correlational study aims to determine whether self-reliance has a mediating relationship between age and intent to seek treatment. The research project also investigates whether self-reliance has a mediating relationship between rurality and intent to seek treatment. An online survey was completed by 68 participants, who lived in rural and regional areas. The respondents were Australian residents and their ages ranged between 19 and 80. Although self-reliance was not found to have a mediating effect between age and help-seeking attitudes in rural Australia, results indicated that the concept of ‘being strong’ (item 2 of the Self-Reliance Scale) was associated with help-seeking attitudes. Furthermore, the findings identified that it was rurality rather than age to affect the intention to seek mental health support. This study could help first point of contact services and personnel, such as medical centres and general practitioners, in encouraging rural people in seeking psychological help, by providing appropriate and effective referrals to mental health practitioners. Further research is needed to understand contributing barriers to help-seeking attitudes in rural older adults.
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| Item Type: | Thesis (Non-Research) (Honours) |
|---|---|
| Item Status: | Live Archive |
| Additional Information: | Current UniSQ staff and students can request access to this thesis. Please email research.repository@unisq.edu.au with a subject line of SEAR thesis request and provide: Name of the thesis requested and Your name and UniSQ email address |
| Faculty/School / Institute/Centre: | Historic - Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences - School of Psychology and Counselling (1 Jan 2015 - 31 Dec 2021) |
| Supervisors: | Bob Knight |
| Qualification: | Bachelor of Science (Honours) |
| Date Deposited: | 29 Aug 2025 05:35 |
| Last Modified: | 29 Aug 2025 05:35 |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | older adults; rural; regional; agricultural value; self-reliance; intent to seek; treatment, attitudinal barriers, mediating effect |
| Fields of Research (2008): | 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 1799 Other Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 179999 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences not elsewhere classified |
| Fields of Research (2020): | 52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5299 Other psychology > 529999 Other psychology not elsewhere classified |
| URI: | https://sear.unisq.edu.au/id/eprint/52478 |
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