Self-Stigma Fully Mediates the Association of Anticipated Enacted Stigma and Help-Seeking Intentions in National Guard Service Members

Abstract

Higher self-stigma and anticipated enacted stigma from unit leaders are linked with lower intentions to seek help from a mental health professional in service members. Research in civilians suggests that the association between stigma perceived from others (e.g., anticipated enacted stigma) and help-seeking is fully mediated by self-stigma, but this has yet to be tested in military samples. The current study explored whether self-stigma mediated the association of anticipated enacted stigma from unit leaders and help-seeking intentions from a mental health professional in 138 Iraq/Afghanistan service members. Self-stigma and anticipated enacted stigma were positively correlated with one another and negatively associated with help-seeking intentions from a mental health professional. Test of direct and indirect effects using bootstrapping revealed that the direct effect of anticipated enacted stigma on help-seeking intentions was no longer significant after accounting for self-stigma. Stigma reduction interventions to facilitate help-seeking in this population are discussed.