Broad concepts of mental disorder predict self-diagnosis

Abstract

Understanding why people identify themselves as having a mental disorder is crucial for making sense of recent rises in self-diagnosis and help-seeking. Previous studies have implicated factors such as levels of distress, mental health literacy, and stigma. Motivated by concept creep research, we tested whether self-diagnosis is also associated with the expansiveness of people's concepts of mental disorder. A nationally representative sample of 474 Americans completed measures of distress, impairment, mental health literacy, stigma, and newly validated concept breadth scales, in addition to current and lifetime mental disorder (both self- and professionally-diagnosed) and help-seeking. Structural equation modeling demonstrated that participants with broader concepts of disorder were more likely to self-diagnose and seek help, independent of distress and impairment, mental health literacy, and low stigma. Holding broader concepts also partially accounted for higher levels of self-diagnosis among younger and more liberal participants and predicted self-diagnosis independently of formal diagnosis. Implications for the surge in self-diagnosis and concerns about pathologization of everyday life are discussed.