TOUCHminds: Help-seeking in Adolescents With Anxiety

The GHSQ is a 12-item self-report scale that assesses adolescents' intentions to seek help for personal-emotional problems from various sources. Responses are rated on a 7-point Likert scale (1 = 'extremely unlikely' to 7 = 'extremely likely'). Its items refer to formal help (e.g., mental health professionals), semi-formal help (e.g., priests), informal help (e.g., partner), and self-help (e.g., the internet). sources. Higher scores indicate stronger intentions to seek help. The GHSQ has been adapted for use in Portugal and, despite the lack of formal psychometric studies, has been widely applied in research. For this study, the scale is further adapted to better reflect adolescents' social context. The adapted version includes formal help (e.g., psychologist), semi-formal help (e.g., teacher), informal help (e.g., friend), and self-help (e.g., online websites) sources. In addition, the original response option "I would not seek help from anyone" will be retaine.

The AHSBS is a 17-item self-report scale developed for this study to assess how often adolescents seek help for emotional or psychological difficulties. Using the same items as the adapted GHSQ, but with new instructions, participants are asked to indicate how frequently they have turned to various sources of help in recent weeks. Responses are given on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = 'never' to 5 = 'always'). Help sources are categorized into formal, semi-formal, informal, and self-help. The total score reflects overall help-seeking frequency, with sub-scores available for each category. The AHSBS is currently under study for its psychometric properties and is expected to show good internal consistency, a structure consistent with help-seeking categories (formal, informal, semi-formal, and self-help), and construct validity in relation help-seeking intentions, stigma, and well-being.

The AMHK is a 15-item self-report scale assessing mental health literacy in adolescents, including symptom recognition, help-seeking, and attitudes toward mental health. Items (e.g., "If someone, over a period of time, avoids or misses school parties or oral presentations because they are afraid of being judged, to what extent do you consider it likely that they are experiencing symptoms of social anxiety?") are rated on a 4-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 ("Very unlikely" or "Very useless") to 4 ("Very likely" or "Very useful"). It was adapted from the Mental Health Literacy Scale (MHLS) and developed with input from adolescents through think-aloud sessions to ensure developmental and cultural relevance. The measure is currently undergoing validation in a Portuguese adolescent sample to assess its internal consistency, construct validity, and factorial structure.

The PMHSS is a 24-item self-report scale that assesses peer attitudes toward adolescents with mental health problems. Of these, 16 negative items measure two components: Stigma Agreement (personal endorsement of stigmatizing beliefs) and Stigma Awareness (perceptions of societal stigma). In this study, only these 16 items were used. Items (e.g., "Most people believe that young people with emotional or behavioral problems are dangerous") are rated on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 'strongly disagree' to 'strongly agree'. Previous psychometric information indicates good internal consistency for the negative items and acceptable values for Stigma Agreement and Stigma Awareness. The Portuguese version is currently undergoing validation in an adolescent sample to assess its internal consistency, construct validity, and factorial structure.

The SCS-A is a 26-item self-report measure that assesses adolescents' self-compassion, defined as the ability to respond to personal difficulties with understanding and non-judgment. Items (e.g., "How I typically act toward myself in difficult times") are rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = 'almost never' to 5 = 'almost always'). The scale includes six subscales reflecting both compassionate (Self-Kindness, Common Humanity, Mindfulness) and uncompassionate (Self-Judgment, Isolation, Over-Identification) self-responding. Previous psychometric information on its Portuguese version indicates good internal consistency for the total scale and acceptable reliability for the subscales. Construct validity has been supported by positive associations with positive emotional memories and negative associations with symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress.

The URICA is a 32-item self-report scale designed to evaluate motivation for behavior change across four stages: pre-contemplation, contemplation, action, and maintenance. Items (e.g., "I have been thinking that I could change something about myself") are rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = 'strongly disagree' to 5 = 'strongly agree'). Each stage is scored from 8 to 32, allowing identification of the individual's predominant stage. A readiness to change score is derived by summing the scores of contemplation, action, and maintenance, and subtracting the pre-contemplation score. Previous psychometric information indicates acceptable internal consistency for the total score in late adolescents and young adults, although subscale reliability was more variable. No analyses of item quality or factorial structure were previously performed. This measure is currently being further adapted and validated for use with Portuguese adolescents.

The MHC-SF is a 14-item self-report scale for the assessment of adolescents' flourishing based on levels of subjective well-being: emotional, social, and psychological well-being. In response to the instruction ("Please answer the following questions about how you have been feeling during the past month"), participants rate each item (e.g., "How often do you felt happy?") using a 6-point Likert scale ranging from 0 = 'Never' to 5 = 'Every day'. Previous psychometric information indicates good internal consistency values and construct validity in relation to measures of quality of life, life satisfaction, anxiety, depression and internalizing and externalizing problems.

The CGI is a clinician-rated measure designed to evaluate both the global severity of illness and changes in clinical status over time. It consists of three subscales: Severity of Illness (CGI-S), Global Improvement (CGI-I), and Efficacy Index. In the present study, only the CGI-S and CGI-I will be used. The CGI-S, which evaluates the severity of psychopathology, is rated on a seven-point scale, ranging from 1 = 'normal' to 7 = 'among the most extremely ill'. The CGI-I, which assesses the perceived change since the initiation of the intervention, is also rated on a seven-point scale, ranging from 1 = 'very much improved' to 7 = 'very much worse', and reflects clinical change relative to the participant's initial evaluation. For the current study, items were translated and adapted to European Portuguese by experts in clinical assessment and intervention, ensuring both linguistic and cultural adequacy.