Who Seeks Help? Examining the Differences in Attitude of Turkish University Students toward Seeking Psychological Help by Gender, Gender Roles, and Help-Seeking Experiences AYSE SIBEL TÜRKÜM Anadolu University Eskisehir, Turkey The present study investigated the differences in Turkish university students’ attitudes toward seeking psychological help and the effects of gender and gender roles on their help-seeking experiences. The Bem Sex Roles Inventory and The Scale of Attitudes toward Seeking Psychological Help—Shortened were administered to 398 undergraduate students. The results found male and female students differed in their attitudes toward help- seeking. However, no significant interaction was found for students’ gender roles and their attitude scores toward help- seeking. The findings and future research needs are discussed. Keywords: masculinity/femininity, sex differences, gender roles, attitudes toward help-seeking, Turkish university students What influences a person to seek help? Studies have looked at numerous factors that influence an individual’s help-seeking behaviour such as fear and distress (Deane & Chamberlain, 1994), self-concealment tendency (Cepeda-Benito & Short, 1998; Kelly & Achter, 1995), perception of social stigma (Farina, Holland, & Ring, 1996), emotional openness and psychological symptom severity (Komiya et al., 2000), avoidance factors (Vogel & Wester, 2003), internal working models of close 389 The author acknowledges the feedback of Drs. Elif Tekin-Iftar, Ilknur Keçik, and Gönül Kircaali-Iftar on earlier versions of this paper. Correspondence concerning this article should be sent to A. Sibel Türküm, Anadolu Universitesi Egitim Fakultesi, 26470, Eskisehir, Turkey. Electronic mail: asturkum@anadolu.edu.tr. The Journal of Men’s Studies, Vol. 13, No. 3, Spring 2005, 389-401. © 2005 by the Men’s Studies Press, LLC. All rights reserved. . . .