Perceived Barriers to Help-Seeking: Perceived Stigma, Poor Mental Health Literacy and Lack of awareness on places to seek help

What are the perceived barriers towards help-seeking in Yogyakarta among youths?

According to the youths surveyed, the top five barriers towards help-seeking are (1) lack of awareness of mental illness (61.8% - 131 respondents), (2) lack of knowledge on places to seek help (52.8% - 112 respondents), (3) perceived social judgement by peers (48.6% - 103 respondents), (4) fear of others knowing that they are seeking help (40.1% - 85 respondents) and the (5) lack of support from parents (32.1% - 68 respondents). 

Perceived barriers -- across cultures 

	Comparisons across culture
		WESTERN	SINGAPORE	YOGYAKARTA
1	Barriers to help-seeking	Lack of a perceived need for help	Fear of Peer Stigma	Lack of awareness
2		Lack of awareness of services or insurance coverage	Lack of information on where to seek help	Lack of knowledge on were to seek help
3		Scepticism — perceived ineffectiveness of treatment programme	Lack of time	Perceived social judgement by peers — fear of peer stigma
4		Religious prohibition and discouragement	Parents do not encourage help-seeking	Fear of others knowing
5			Fear that conditions will not be kept confidential by schools	Lack of support from parents

• A comparison across three cultural contexts of Western, Singapore4 and Yogyakarta, revealed that the factors of perceived stigma, poor mental health literacy and lack of awareness on places to seek help, consistently surfaced as key barriers towards help-seeking. 
• This finding has implications on the prioritisation of mental health promotion, prevention and engagement efforts, when tackling barriers. 
• Strategies for improving help-seeking for youths should focus on reducing perceived stigma by debunking myths and abating concerns that others will judge, improving mental health literacy and in raising awareness of the public on places offering mental health services.