TY - JOUR
T1 - Perceived stigma and help-seeking behavior
T2 - Longitudinal evidence from the healthy minds study
AU - Golberstein, Ezra
AU - Eisenberg, Daniel
AU - Gollust, Sarah E.
PY - 2009/9
Y1 - 2009/9
N2 - Objective: Despite considerable policy interest in the association between perceived public stigmatization of mental illness and use of mental health services, limited empirical evidence, particularly from longitudinal data, documents this relationship. This study used longitudinal data to estimate the association between perceived public stigmatization and subsequent mental health care seeking. Methods: A Web-based survey was used to collect data from a random sample of undergraduate and graduate students at a university at baseline and two years later (N=732). Logistic regression models assessed the association between students' perceived public stigma at baseline and measures of subsequent help seeking for mental health problems (perceived need for help and use of mental health services) at follow-up. Results: No significant associations were found between perceived public stigma and help-seeking behavior over the two-year period. Conclusions: In this population of college students, perceived stigma did not appear to pose a substantial barrier to mental health care.
AB - Objective: Despite considerable policy interest in the association between perceived public stigmatization of mental illness and use of mental health services, limited empirical evidence, particularly from longitudinal data, documents this relationship. This study used longitudinal data to estimate the association between perceived public stigmatization and subsequent mental health care seeking. Methods: A Web-based survey was used to collect data from a random sample of undergraduate and graduate students at a university at baseline and two years later (N=732). Logistic regression models assessed the association between students' perceived public stigma at baseline and measures of subsequent help seeking for mental health problems (perceived need for help and use of mental health services) at follow-up. Results: No significant associations were found between perceived public stigma and help-seeking behavior over the two-year period. Conclusions: In this population of college students, perceived stigma did not appear to pose a substantial barrier to mental health care.
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U2 - 10.1176/ps.2009.60.9.1254
DO - 10.1176/ps.2009.60.9.1254
M3 - Article
C2 - 19723742
AN - SCOPUS:69949108761
SN - 1075-2730
VL - 60
SP - 1254
EP - 1256
JO - Psychiatric Services
JF - Psychiatric Services
IS - 9
ER -