The mediating role of irrational beliefs in the relationship between helicopter parenting and psychological help seeking attitudes

The purpose of this research is to examine the mediating role of irrational beliefs in the relationship between helicopter parenting attitude and university students' attitudes towards seeking psychological help. The other sub-purpose of the research is to examine whether this relationship differs according to the changes in the well-being of university students during the pandemic period. The research was carried out with the participation of 378 university students (76.2% female, 23.8% male) studying in Ankara in the fall semester of the 2020-2021 academic year. The data in the study were obtained with the Personal Information Form, The Attitudes towards Seeking Psychological Help Scale-Short Form, the Helicopter Parenting Scale and the Irrational Beliefs Scale-Short Form. The model proposed for the attitudes of the university students who make up the study group towards seeking psychological help was tested with the Structural Equation Model. LISREL 8.51 and AMOS 24 programs were used to analyze the data. Structural models were tested and verified, based on the validated measurement models of the model that was first created in the research. It was determined that the fit indices of the model fit well and the coefficients obtained were statistically significant. It was determined that the structural model established for the mediating role of irrational beliefs in the relationship between helicopter parenting and the attitude towards seeking psychological help variable had a good fit, and it was seen that irrational beliefs had a mediating role in the model. Findings from the research; reveals that individuals with helicopter parents have high irrational belief levels and negative attitudes towards seeking psychological help. The model established for the sub-purpose of the research was tested in two separate groups as those who had a change in well-being (76.4%) and those who did not (23.5%) during the pandemic period. It was determined that the measurement model and the structural model had a good fit in both groups. It was found that the group that experienced a change in well-being during the pandemic period differed from the group that did not. The fact that individuals who experience negative changes in their well-being have a higher level of irrational belief than those who do not show that there is a significant relationship between negative attitudes towards seeking psychological help. Keywords: Seeking Psychological Help, Helicopter Parenting, Irrational Beliefs, Pandemic, Well-Being