Young People's Help-Seeking

Abstract

This article is based on a study of young people's help-seeking. Fifty-five qualitative interviews with young people aged 13–14 are analysed to take account of stage process models. It is argued that while the models do have relevance to young people's help-seeking, they have two key limitations. First, they ignore problem legitimization. Second, they do not accord a place in young people's currenthelp-seeking to prior help-seeking pathways. The view that stage process models represent help-seeking as individualized and static led to the formulation by the author of an alternative help-seeking model, in which problem legitimization from micro to macro levels is incorporated alongside young people's prior helpseeking pathways.