Stigma of Seeking Psychological Services: Examining College Students Across Ten Countries/Regions

David L. Vogel, Haley A. Strass, Patrick J. Heath, Fatima R. Al-Darmaki, Patrick I. Armstrong, Makilim N. Baptista, Rachel E. Brenner, Marta Gonçalves, Daniel G. Lannin, Hsin Ya Liao, Corey S. Mackenzie, Winnie W.S. Mak, Mark Rubin, Nursel Topkaya, Nathaniel G. Wade, Ying Fen Wang, Alina Zlati

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    38 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Stigma is an important barrier to seeking psychological services worldwide. Two types of stigma exist: public stigma and self-stigma. Scholars have argued that public stigma leads to self-stigma, and then self-stigma is the primary predictor of attitudes toward seeking psychological services. However, this assertion is largely limited to U.S. samples. The goal of this research was to provide a first step in understanding the relationship between public stigma, self-stigma, and attitudes toward seeking psychological services in international contexts (N = 3,276; Australia, Brazil, Canada, Hong Kong, Portugal, Romania, Taiwan, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and United States). Using structural equation modeling, we found that self-stigma mediated the relationship between public stigma and attitudes toward seeking services among college students in each country and region. However, differences in path strengths emphasize the need to pay attention to the role of public and self-stigma on attitudes toward seeking psychological services throughout the world.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)170-192
    Number of pages23
    JournalCounseling Psychologist
    Volume45
    Issue number2
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Feb 1 2017

    Keywords

    • cross-cultural
    • help seeking
    • stigma
    • therapy

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Applied Psychology

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