“Me” versus “them”: How mental illness stigma influences adolescent help-seeking behaviors for oneself and recommendations for peers.

Abstract

Mental illness stigma is a significant barrier to utilizing mental health services for young populations. Few studies have evaluated how specific stigma dimensions relate to help-seeking and recommendations among adolescents. We examined how the stigma dimensions of labeling, stereotypes, and separation/discrimination influenced self-reported help-seeking behaviors of adolescents and recommendations for hypothetical peers with a mental health problem. Longitudinal data (four assessments) from a study evaluating the effectiveness of three antistigma interventions (curriculum, contact, materials, vs. control) among adolescents were analyzed (n = 396). Help-seeking outcomes comprised services in formal (e.g., doctor), informal (e.g., friend), or school-based (e.g., school counselor) settings. Generalized estimating equations tested associations of labeling, stereotypes, and separation/discrimination on help-seeking for a personal problem and recommendations for vignette characters described as having bipolar depression or social anxiety disorder. Adolescents were more likely to make help-seeking recommendations for peers with mental health problems than they were to seek help for a problem of their own. Labeling was a strong predictor of selfreported help-seeking and recommendations. Mental health literacy, an indicator for low negative stereotypes, was related to increased recommendations but not self-reported help-seeking. Positive stigma action and awareness-high cognizance of stigma and how to engage in proactive behaviors toward treating and destigmatizing mental illness-increased help-seeking in formal and informal settings for oneself. Finally, separation/discrimination did not prevent self-reported help-seeking, but it did increase peer recommendations in certain settings. Stigma did not always influence or interfere with help-seeking in the same way when the help-seeker was oneself versus a peer.

A Mixed-Methods Investigation of Adolescents’ Beliefs About the Causes of Depression

“…However, participants in this study were much less likely to volunteer this as a cause of their own depression, with only 2% believing their own depression was caused by social media or internet use. A similar "me versus them" phenomenon has also been found with the effect of mental health stigma on adolescents' help-seeking behaviors (Villatoro, DuPont-Reyes, Phelan, & Link, 2022). Future research should be clear about which causal belief construct is being studied, given the significant differences between the two.…”

Disparities in healthcare utilization and depression among young mothers: The role of family functioning

“…In the context of family, access to care for adolescents is often shaped by how parents and caregivers perceive care. 37 – 39 For example, if a parent has negative perceptions of healthcare systems, they may be less likely to seek care for their adolescent child.…”

Blueprint for destigmatizing depression and increasing openness to treatment among adolescents using brief social contact-based videos: a qualitative study

“…Despite these sobering facts, few adolescents seek help for depressive symptoms-even with sufficient baseline mental health literacy-in part due to stigma (5). Mental health stigma is defined as negative beliefs, stereotypes, and fears of individuals with mental illness (6), which can be internalized to create selfstigma (7).…”