According to the IBM-HS, beliefs about others’ behavior are beliefs about whether a referent (i.e., an important individual or group in one’s life) would or would not seek help if that referent had a mental health concern (e.g., “If my friends had a mental health concern, they would / would not seek help.”)
These beliefs primarily influence people’s help-seeking perceived norm.
A person may perceive that some referents would seek help for themselves whereas other referents would not seek help for themselves. These beliefs may or may not accurately reflect what these referents would actually do in real life.
It is also possible for a person to think that a given referent (e.g., classmate) would want the person to seek help, yet also perceive that referent would not seek help themselves if experiencing a mental health concern (Wright et al., 2023).
A description of available prospective mental health help-seeking beliefs about others’ behavior measures can be found on the Beliefs about Others’ Behavior Measures page.
(Please note: select page content is excerpted from Hammer et al., 2024.)