Campus Location

Abilene Campus (Residential)

Date of Award

Spring 5-2018

Document Type

Thesis

Department

Psychology

Degree Name

Master of Science

Committee Chair or Primary Advisor

Scott Perkins

Second Committee Member or Secondary Advisor

Cherisse Flanagan

Third Committee Member or Committee Reader

Richard Beck

Abstract

The millennial generation (those born after 1985) appears to be seeking mental health services (MHS) less frequently than older generations. Additionally, this generation is reportedly more narcissistic and entitled than older generations and have maladaptive helicopter parents. One explanation for millennials’ underutilization of MHS would be to attribute this to their narcissism, entitlement, and helicopter parents. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether differences exist between millennials and non-millennials regarding their levels of narcissism, entitlement, experiences of helicopter parenting, and attitudes towards therapy. Additionally, the study predicted that increased levels of narcissism, entitlement, and helicopter parenting would be associated with poorer attitudes towards MHS. Results failed to support the presence of any significant generational differences. However, narcissism, entitlement, and helicopter parenting were associated with poorer attitudes towards therapy. This suggests that these traits, in part, may act as a treatment barrier for seeking MHS. Further research is called for to more clearly understand the millennial generation and effectively provide them with MHS.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Share

COinS
 
 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.