Cultural influences (e.g., emotional stoicism) are often left unaccounted for in investigations of the factors that influence mental health help seeking. Cultural influences are most often measured by help-seeking professionals using respondent-report measures such as those administered on a survey or via an interview conversation. There is a growing array of self-report measures that can be used to inquire about individuals’ perceptions of the nature and impact of these cultural influences in their lives, including how these influences may shape their mental health care journey.
This webpage is designed to introduce readers to some of the many measures of cultural influences that exist, which professionals may leverage to answer questions about how these influences shape people’s perceptions and behaviors related to seeking mental healthcare.
Given the multitude of existing and forthcoming measures, the below list will be expanded and revised over time to maximize its value to those looking for measures with published evidence of reliability and validity.
- Conformity to Masculine Norms-30 (CMNI-30) (Levant et al., 2020) (full-text download) (learn more or request permission to use) – measures the degree to which individuals endorse personally enacting the requirements of 10 masculine norms, including norms such as emotional control (endorsing control of emotional expression) and self-reliance (reluctance to seek help but rather rely on oneself)
- “Reflected Shame 1′ subscale of the Attitudes Towards Mental Health Problems (ATMHP) (Gilbert et al., 2007) (full-text download) (learn more or request permission to use) – measures the degree to which respondents would worry that they would bring shame on their family if they had a mental health problem such as depression and anxiety.