The IBM-HS specifies the existence of other determinants within the model because it is possible that other important determinants exist beyond the seven determinants explicitly specified in the IBM-HS. There are literally thousands of constructs that have been studied in the social sciences and many of those constructs could be included in help-seeking investigations to determine whether or not they may shape mental health help-seeking perceptions and behaviors. Here is a brief list of constructs (and accompanying measures) that do not fit neatly into one of the seven IBM-HS determinant categories that have been examined in the context of mental health help-seeking behavior:
- Psychological coping styles or strategies – can be measured with a variety of measures such as the Carver Brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced Inventory (Brief-COPE). Systematic reviews of coping measures include Skinner et al., (2003) and Garcia (2010).
- Use of informal sources of support – can be measured with select items from the General Help Seeking Questionnaire (GHSQ; Wilson et al., 2005). Lynch and colleagues (2023) provide a helpful scoping review of the role of informal sources of help in youth mental health help-seeking pathways.
- Distress disclosure – can be measured with the Distress Disclosure Index (DDI; Kahn & Hessling, 2001) or Emotional Self-Disclosure Scale (ESDS: Snell et al., 1988)
- Big-5 Personality Traits – can be measured with items derived from the International Personality Item Pool, such as the mini-IPIP scales (Donnellan et al., 2006).
- See column R of the “Systematic Reviews” tab of the Mental Health Help Seeking Systematic Reviews, Meta-Analyses, & Notable Studies google sheet maintained by Dr. Hammer’s research team for a summary of the constructs mentioned in systematic reviews that could be considered “other determinants” according to the IBM-HS.