Stigma Of Seeking Help Research Articles

Interdependent stigma of seeking mental health services: Examining a new scale across eight countries/regions.

Although the presence of mental health stigma associated with seeking help has been demonstrated in many parts of the world, this work has largely been from an independent perspective (i.e., "I will be perceived as crazy") rather than from an interdependent perspective (i.e., "My family will be viewed negatively"). Interdependent stigma of seeking help (i.e., the extent to which people believe their family would be devalued and shamed if they seek psychological help) may be an important type of stigma that has not been assessed. Based on self-construal theory, the present study sought to develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of an Interdependent Stigma of Seeking Help (ISSH) scale in eight different countries and regions (i.e., Australia, Brazil, Germany, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Türkiye, the UAE, the United States). Findings suggest that the psychometric properties of the eight-item ISSH are adequate for research purposes (a unidimensional scale with full invariance and internal consistency estimates from .84 to .94). The ISSH was moderately related to other measures of stigma and psychological distress. Some differences in the relationship with specific outcomes by country and region were found, and there were notable country differences in the latent mean levels of ISSH, with Hong Kong and Taiwan having the highest means, and Australia, the United States, and Brazil having the lowest levels. Results suggest that the ISSH could be used to help clarify the complex relationships between stigma and other variables of interest and might be useful in developing culturally relevant interventions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Social network stigma of seeking help: influences on psychological distress and flourishing and the role of psychological flexibility

Social network stigma of seeking help: influences on psychological distress and flourishing and the role of psychological flexibility

AI Chatbots And Psychotherapy: A Match Made In Heaven?

Dear Editor, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing psychotherapy by combating its inaccessibility.1 AI chatbots and conversational agents are among the most promising integrations in psychiatry and psychology. By harnessing the power of machine learning and artificial intelligence (Figure I), AI chatbots and conversational agents can provide a level of interaction and support previously unattainable in the landscape of mental health. In this letter, I will explore some of their numerous benefits. Chatbots have evolved from early examples such as ELIZA, a programmable natural language processing program, and PARRY, a program that mimicked the behaviour of a human with schizophrenia, to modern ones such as Woebot, Tess, and Replika, which offer cognitive behavioural therapy, sessions, and self-understanding, respectively. Some chatbots such as Kaspar and Nao are also embodied in physical robots, which help children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) learn social skills and facial recognition. AI chatbots can address the challenges of mental health care, such as the shortage of professionals2, especially in underdeveloped countries; the stigma of seeking help, which is prevalent in many cultures; the cost of therapy, which can be prohibitive for many people; and the limitations of human therapists, who can have variable attention spans, attention-to-detail, and memory capacities. AI chatbots can also offer benefits such as accessibility, anonymity, personalization, and effectiveness. Studies have shown that AI chatbots can improve the outcomes and experiences of mental health patients in various ways, such as enhancing the performance of those with ASD with robotic "therapists"1, increasing their disclosure of sensitive information to chatbots2, and reducing their distress after talking about their problems with conversational agents3. The benefits of AI chatbots for mental health are clear. However, they also face many challenges that limit their usability and reliability. They may lack the emotional skills of human therapists and may not be accountable for their diagnoses and recommendations. They may also not be based on sound mental health knowledge and evidence, as technology companies may not have expertise and experience in this field. Therefore, technology companies and mental health professionals must collaborate and adopt a rational approach to develop and evaluate chatbots. Only then can chatbots realize their full potential and complement existing mental health services safely and ethically.

Engaging Czech-Slovak Roma women in the co-creation of an antenatal care information resource

Abstract Background Czech-Slovak Roma women in the UK suffer barriers to antenatal care such as stigma contributing to reduced engagement with health services. There is a scarcity of research and intervention studies with this population. This study aims to co-create an antenatal care community information resource with a group of these women through participatory research. Women's stories of their pregnancy journeys would be able to provide an understanding of their maternity needs, to inform design considerations for a prototype of an antenatal care information resource. Objectives 1. To understand Roma women's needs in pregnancy, childbirth, and maternity services through storytelling 2. To share with women publicly available antenatal information resources such as pregnancy apps 3. To co-create a low-resolution paper prototype of an antenatal care information resource that meets their needs Research activities 1. Six two-hour workshops with 6-8 women supported by a peer researcher and an interpreter. 2. Two workshops focused on the co-creation of an antenatal information resource. 3. Design-based participatory methods and thematic analysis, culminating in a community event and webinar for public and professional stakeholders. Findings The women's pregnancy journeys covered several topics such as unplanned pregnancies, nausea and vomiting, pregnancy loss and birth trauma. Through all these, the main message they wished to convey was the need for women in the community to overcome the stigma of seeking help for their mental health. Our information resource developed using a co-creative participatory approach, signposts Roma women to reliable information and healthcare provision potentially reducing poor maternal and perinatal health outcomes. This study could be replicated in other marginalized newly arrived groups of migrant women to facilitate timely uptake of antenatal and mental health support services. Key messages • Czech-Slovak Roma women face stigma in seeking help for their mental health during pregnancy. • Roma women can be supported to overcome stigma through design-based participatory research.

The role of psychological distress, stigma and coping strategies on help-seeking intentions in a sample of Italian college students

BackgroundMental health issues are common among university students, but the latter are unlikely to seek professional help even when mental health services are available. Coping strategies, stigma and psychological distress are often considered as factors that can affect help-seeking intentions in university students.MethodsThis study aimed to determine the role of coping strategies, stigma and psychological distress on the intentions to seek professional help for psychological problems. All students (N = 13,886) from an Italian medium-sized university were asked to participate in a multidimensional online survey and 3754 (27.1%) agreed to participate. A Structural Equation Modelling approach was applied to explore the simultaneous direct and indirect effects of distress, stigma and coping strategies on professional help-seeking intentions.ResultsResults showed that students were not very likely to seek professional help and, through the Structural Equation Model, psychological distress was found to be positively correlated with coping strategies, which in turn was negatively associated with the stigma of seeking help. The latter was negatively associated with professional help-seeking intentions. These effects suggest that students with significant psychological distress use coping strategies to face the stigma of seeking help: the lower the stigma of seeking help, the higher the chance of developing intentions to seek professional help.ConclusionsThis study suggests the importance of implementing programs to encourage college students to seek help, including measures that foster a stigma-free environment, reduce psychological distress and promote the use of adaptive coping strategies. Interventions should be focused firstly on self-stigma and secondly on perceived stigma, taking into consideration the level of psychological distress and social stereotypes associated with mental disorders and help seeking behaviours. Programs about coping are also essential and should focus on promoting emotion-focused strategies and problem-focused strategies.

Let it out: A digital communication campaign to reduce suicide and mental health stigma in Kentucky farmers

Given the disproportionately high suicide rate of farmers in Kentucky and the unique cultural needs of farmers, a coalition was created to reduce the stigma of seeking help for mental health. A targeted communications campaign was developed to provide information to farmers at risk. This paper describes the development and launch of the campaign, including formative research, message development, campaign concepts, deployment of the campaign, and initial results. Events, traditional advertising, and social and digital media campaigns provided targeted brand awareness. Initial reception to the campaign was positive, especially with TV and radio watch- and listen-through rates and website traffic. The campaign requires expanded messaging and tactics and new partnerships to influence farmers. Practical and theoretical implications include the future use of paid digital strategies to confidentially influence farmers, additional research about culturally competent approaches toward subsets of farmers, and the amount of detail to provide about mental health conditions.

“Ask Parents What They Want to Do” – Mothers Seeking Help with Parenting and Their Perspectives on Barriers and Potential Enablers for Help with Smoking Cessation: A Qualitative Study

PurposeTo describe parents' perceptions of opportunities and barriers to smoking cessation in early parenting and the support needed to achieve this. Design and methodsA qualitative approach, using semi-structured interviews with mothers, and inductive thematic analysis. ResultsBarriers to cessation intervention included readiness to quit, lack of knowledge, and the shame and stigma of seeking help. Mothers' perceived opportunities for support from early parenting services included approaches to effecting change, leveraging opportunities to explore smoking cessation, and tailoring interventions to family strengths, with a focus on promoting attachment. ConclusionsMothers may be struggling with parenting, but are also open to opportunities to explore smoking behaviours and intervention. Nurses and other health care professionals working in this setting may be well situated to support parents with their decisions to consider smoking cessation and avoid smoking relapse. Practice implicationsThe findings can assist nurses and other early parenting service clinicians to consider their approach to parents who continue to smoke or are at risk of smoking relapse.

Validation of the Self Stigma of Seeking Help (SSOSH) scale in a population of Colombian medical students

ObjectiveValidate the Self Stigma Of Seeking Help (SSOSH) scale in a population of students of a medical school for its use in Colombia. MethodsWe included 384 medical students from the city of Medellín. Initially, two direct translations were made, two back translation and one pilot test. The internal consistency, test-retest repeatability and structural, convergent, divergent and discriminative construct validity were then evaluated. ResultsA easy-to-understand and to fill out Spanish version was obtained. The internal consistency of the scale was adequate (Cronbach’s alpha = .80; 95%CI, .77–.83) as well as the test-retest repeatability (CCI = .77; 95%CI, .63–.86). The Confirmatory Factor Analysis showed a good fit with the one-dimensional structure (RMSEA = .073; IC90%, .056–.089; CFI = .968; TLI = .977; WRMR = .844). The convergent validity was supported by the correlation with the Public Stigma scales (ρ = .39) and Attitudes towards Seeking Help (ρ = –0.50) and the divergent validity with the Social Desirability scale (ρ = –0,05). When examining the discriminative validity, differences were found between the scores of those who would be willing to seek professional help when having a mental health problem and those who probably would not (Difference of means = 4.9; 95%CI, 2.99–6.83). ConclusionsThe Colombian version of the SSOSH is valid, reliable and useful for the measurement of the Self-stigma associated with seeking professional help in the university population of the Colombian health sector. Its psychometric properties must be investigated in populations of other programs and outside universities.

Bypassing the waitlist: examining barriers and facilitators of help-line utilization among college students with depression symptoms

Background A large number of U.S. college students suffer from depression symptoms, yet existing resources cannot match the demand. Aims This study identified the psychological determinants of utilizing a help-line and examined potential barriers in order to inform effective help-line promotion. Participants Four hundred and six undergraduate students (18–29 years) completed a survey at a large Southern United States university between January and May 2018. Methods The survey assessed depression symptoms (PHQ9), whether students were aware of the help-line they had access to, stigma beliefs about depression/suicide, stigma of seeking help (SSOSH), predictors of intention to utilize the help-line (RAT) and behavioral approach and avoidance motivation (BIS/BAS). Results Students showed mild symptoms of depression (M = 6.60, SD = 5.13) and knew about the help-line (74.8%), but expressed low intentions to use it (M = 1.5, SD = 0.97; 7-pt scale). Depression symptoms influenced the strength of association between determinants and intentions to use a help-line (β = 0.25, p < 0.001). Participants with depression symptoms were also more likely to endorse adverse beliefs about depression/suicide (β = 0.11, p = 0.025). Conclusion Help-lines should be promoted by activating and reinforcing positive outcome expectations. Health campaigns should also address adverse beliefs in this population.

Validación de la escala de Autoestigma por Búsqueda de Ayuda (ABA) en una población de estudiantes de Medicina de Colombia

ObjectiveValidate the Self Stigma Of Seeking Help (SSOSH) scale in a population of students of a medical school for its use in Colombia. MethodsWe included 384 medical students from the city of Medellín. Initially, two direct translations were made, two back translation and one pilot test. The internal consistency, test-retest repeatability and structural, convergent, divergent and discriminative construct validity were then evaluated. ResultsA easy-to-understand and to fill out Spanish version was obtained. The internal consistency of the scale was adequate (Cronbach's alpha=.80; 95%CI, .77-.83) as well as the test-retest repeatability (CCI=.77; 95%CI, .63-.86). The Confirmatory Factor Analysis showed a good fit with the one-dimensional structure (RMSEA=.073; IC90%, .056-.089; CFI=.968; TLI=.977; WRMR=.844). The convergent validity was supported by the correlation with the Public Stigma scales (ρ=.39) and Attitudes towards Seeking Help (ρ= –0.50) and the divergent validity with the Social Desirability scale (ρ=–0,05). When examining the discriminative validity, differences were found between the scores of those who would be willing to seek professional help when having a mental health problem and those who probably would not (Difference of means=4.9; 95%CI, 2.99-6.83). ConclusionsThe Colombian version of the SSOSH is valid, reliable and useful for the measurement of the Self-stigma associated with seeking professional help in the university population of the Colombian health sector. Its psychometric properties must be investigated in populations of other programs and outside universities.

The impact of Age-Tastic! On health literacy about depression among older adults: a pilot study

ABSTRACTAge-Tastic! is a health and wellness intervention designed for older adults. Incorporating game theory and behavioral activation concepts, this intervention is a board game that engages older adults in an interactive and immersive experience over 8 weeks. This paper reports on a pilot study that evaluated the impact of this intervention on health literacy about depression among community-dwelling older adults from New York City. The sample comprised 123 older adults recruited from 15 senior centers. Participants were tested on their knowledge and awareness of depression prior to the intervention and again at the end of the intervention after eight weeks. Statistically significant gains were made in the knowledge and awareness regarding the relationship of aging to depression, stigma of seeking help and knowing where to seek help. Implications for replication and use of this intervention are discussed.

Seeking help despite the stigma: Experiential avoidance as a moderated mediator.

The help-seeking literature identifies a model wherein public stigma of seeking help is internalized as self-stigma of seeking help, which, in turn, decreases help-seeking outcomes. The current study considered whether experiential avoidance, or a tendency to avoid painful thoughts or emotions, moderates how strongly these stigmata relate to help-seeking intentions among university students. Specifically, this study tested whether experiential avoidance moderates (a) the direct relationship between self-stigma of seeking psychological help and help-seeking intentions and (b) the indirect relationship between public stigma and help-seeking intentions. Conditional process modeling in a university student sample (N = 235) supported these hypotheses. The direct relationship between self-stigma and help-seeking intentions was nonsignificant and weaker for those who reported low experiential avoidance than for those who reported high experiential avoidance. Results also demonstrated a moderated indirect effect wherein the relationship between self-stigma and intentions was nonsignificant among those reporting low levels of experiential avoidance. This suggests that self-stigma may predict help-seeking intentions when avoidance of therapy functions as a means for avoiding unpleasant emotions. These findings suggest that interventions designed to decrease experiential avoidance by increasing openness to unpleasant emotions may offer a novel avenue to attenuate the impact of self-stigma on help-seeking intentions without requiring the difficult task of reducing stigma altogether. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Masculine gender role stress and self-stigma of seeking help: The moderating roles of self-compassion and self-coldness.

Many college men express stigma of seeking psychological help, possibly due to masculine gender role socialization proscribing help seeking. However, not every man who buys into restrictive masculine roles expresses self-stigma of seeking help, suggesting the presence of potential moderating variables. The present study examined self-compassion and self-coldness as potential moderating variables on the associations between men's masculine gender role stress and self-stigma of seeking help. College men (N = 777) were recruited via e-mail to participate in a brief online survey. Structural equation modeling revealed that masculine gender role stress was positively associated with self-stigma and self-coldness but was negatively associated with self-compassion. Both self-compassion and self-coldness were significant moderators. Men with low levels of self-compassion evidenced the strongest positive associations between masculine gender role stress and self-stigma, whereas men with low (but not high) self-coldness evidenced positive associations with self-stigma. These findings highlight differences between self-compassion and self-coldness and suggest that high levels of self-compassion may be a protective factor in reducing the associations between rigid masculinities and men's stigma of seeking help. By contrast, men with extremely negative and critical self-views may be likely to report stigma of seeking help regardless of their endorsement of rigid masculinities. Intervention and prevention implications include helping men enhance their self-compassion. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Age differences in public stigma, self-stigma, and attitudes toward seeking help: A moderated mediation model.

Stigma is commonly identified as a key reason that older adults are especially unlikely to seek mental health services, although few studies have tested this assumption. Our objectives were to: (a) examine age differences in public and self-stigma of seeking help, and attitudes toward seeking help, and (b) see whether age moderates an internalized stigma of seeking help model. A total of 5,712 Canadians ranging in age from 18 to 101 completed self-report measures of public stigma of seeking help, self-stigma of seeking help, and help-seeking attitudes. Older participants had the lowest levels of stigma and the most positive help-seeking attitudes. Age also moderated the mediation model, such that the indirect effect of public stigma on help-seeking attitudes through self-stigma was strongest for older participants. Our findings have implications for the influence of stigma and attitudes as barriers to treatment across the adult lifespan, and for stigma reduction interventions.

Üniversite Öğrencilerinin Psikolojik Yardım Aramaya İlişkin Kendini Damgalama Tutumları ile Bilişsel-Davranışsal Kaçınma Düzeyleri Arasındaki İlişki

Bu araştırmada, bireylerin psikolojik yardım aramaya ilişkin kendini damgalama tutumları ile bilişsel davranışçı kaçınma düzeyleri arasındaki ilişkinin incelenmesi amaçlanmış, ayrıca kendini damgalama tutumu cinsiyet, yerleşim yeri ve psikolojik yardım alma deneyimi değişkenleri açısından ele alınmıştır. Araştırmada kullanılan veriler, Psikolojik Yardım Aramada Kendini Damgalama Ölçeği, Bilişsel-Davranışsal Kaçınma Ölçeği ve araştırma kapsamında geliştirilen Kişisel Bilgi Formu aracılığıyla toplanmıştır. Araştırmadan elde edilen sonuçlara göre erkek öğrencilerin ve yaşamının çoğunu kırsal bölgede geçiren öğrencilerin kendini damgalama tutumlarının daha yüksek düzeyde olduğu görülmüştür. Araştırmada ayrıca, bireylerde kendini damgalama tutumu ile bilişsel davranışsal kaçınma düzeyi arasında pozitif yönde anlamlı bir ilişkinin olduğu bulgulanmış, yapılan Regresyon analizi sonuçlarına göre cinsiyet, yerleşim yeri ve bilişsel davranışsal kaçınma değişkenlerinin kendini damgalama tutumunu anlamlı bir şekilde yordadığı görülmüştür.

College students’ peer-helping behaviors and stigma of seeking help: Testing a moderated mediation model

Objective: College students are most likely to seek psychological help from their peers. Internalized public stigma (ie, personal stigma) may prevent peer-helpers from aiding others, and such help-negating effects may depend on contextual factors such as race and gender. The current study examined a moderated mediation model in which the relationship between public stigma and peer intervention behaviors was mediated by personal stigma and moderated by race and gender categories. Method: Undergraduate students (N = 5,183) from the national Healthy Minds Study completed measures of help-seeking stigma and peer-helping behaviors. Results: Conditional Process Modeling revealed that personal stigma fully mediated the link between public stigma and peer-helping behaviors. Gender (but not race) moderated these associations such that the indirect and direct effects were stronger from men than women. Conclusions: Peer-helper interventions may benefit from culture-specific re-norming messages and by addressing the role of gender in peer-helping.

The stigma of seeking help for mental health issues: mediating roles of support and coping and the moderating role of symptom profile

AbstractA key factor to the prevalence of mental illness might be the disinclination to seek help, perhaps owing to the stigma of mental illness. In two studies, the contribution of severity of depressive symptoms, social support, and unsupport, coping strategies, and salience of psychological versus biological features of depression in relation to perceived self‐ and other‐stigma of help‐seeking for mental health issues were examined. Participants were first year students experiencing a transitional stressor, namely entry to university. Together, the findings point to the contribution of social support and unsupportive interactions, and coping methods to the prediction of perceived stigma of seeking help, but that the framing of mental illness can limit or strengthen these relations.

Understanding help-seeking amongst university students: the role of group identity, stigma, and exposure to suicide and help-seeking.

Background: Despite a high prevalence of suicide ideation and mental health issues amongst university students, the stigma of help-seeking remains a barrier to those who are in real need of professional support. Social identity theory states that help received from an ingroup source is more welcome and less threatening to one's identity than that from a source perceived as outgroup. Therefore, we hypothesized that students' stigma toward seeking help from their university mental health service would differ based on the strength of their identification with the university.Method: An online survey including measures of stigma of suicide, group identification, experience with help-seeking and exposure to suicide was administered to Irish university students (N = 493).Results: Group identification was a significant predictor of help-seeking attitudes after controlling for already known predictors. Contrary to our expectations, those who identified more strongly with their university demonstrated a higher stigma of seeking help from their university mental health service.Conclusions: Results are discussed in relation to self-categorization theory and the concept of normative fit. Practical implications for mental health service provision in universities are also addressed, specifically the need for a range of different mental health services both on and off-campus.

A military suicide prevention program in the Israeli Defense Force: a review of an important military medical procedure.

The phenomenon of suicide during military service is not unique to the Israeli military and other armies. Soldiers’ age––adolescence––is a known factor contributing to suicide, in light of psychological processes of identity formation and self-definition, the stresses of military service, and above all, the availability of weapons. The stigma of seeking help deters some soldiers from getting the assistance they need when they need it most, thus contributing to the higher suicide rate. In the previous decade the IDF initiated intensive and structured preventive procedures aimed at reducing suicide rate among soldiers. The IDF’s Suicide Prevention Program (SPP) was grounded in professional knowledge and backed by military policy changes, both critical to the implementation and change processes. The SPP includes thorough psycho-education and guidance, supervision, greater accessibility of mental health officers, and lower accessibility of nonessential weapons. The SPP has succeeded in reducing the suicide rate by almost 50 %.The aim of this article is to review the background of the design of the IDF’s SPP and its major components, leading to the current success.

Does being first in family matter? The role of identity in the stigma of seeking help among first and non-first in family university students

The transition from secondary school to university is often perceived as stressful, perhaps more so for students who are the first in their family to seek higher education, as they might face challenges unique to their situation. Yet, the majority are less likely to acknowledge problems and are unlikely to engage in help-seeking behaviour. The present study, which focuses on first in family students transitioning from secondary school to university, examined relations between identification (private regard, public regard, compatibility) and the stigma (self and other) associated with help-seeking in different domains (academic and mental health), and the moderating role of first in family status. Implications for these findings are addressed within the context of stigma reduction initiatives.