Persuading People with Depression to Seek Help: Respect the Boomerang

Abstract

People with depression are likely to process information with a negative bias when confronted with self-relevant information. Accordingly, we feared exposing depressed people to a public service announcement (PSA) addressing the stigma of depression would possibly boomerang and result in less intention to seek help and in increased self-stigma. College students (N = 271; Mage = 22.51, SD = 4.71; 63.1% female; 37.3% White, 31.9% Hispanic, 12.9% Asian, 6.8% multiethnic, 3.4% Black, 7.6% other) were randomly assigned to receive a print ad focused on depression or a nonrelevant comparison ad. A paper-and-pencil survey consisting of the Beck Depression Inventory-II, Self-Stigma of Seeking Help scale, help-seeking intentions, and demographics followed. Regression analysis indicated that viewing a depression ad caused people with greater depressive symptoms to experience greater levels of self-stigma than depressed people exposed to a nonrelevant comparison ad. Bootstrap mediation analysis showed that for individuals who viewed a depression PSA, self-stigma mediated the relationship between depressive symptoms and professional help-seeking intentions. While this current study offers no direct evidence in regard to the utility of current and past depression campaigns, results indicate a definite need for caution when developing materials targeting people with depression to seek help.

Positive Emotion Infusions: Can Savoring Increase Help‐Seeking Intentions among People with Depression?

“…This is especially the case when considering that not all of the previous attempts to influence individuals with depressive symptomatology have been successful, and some have even resulted in iatrogenic effects (Keeler & Siegel, 2016;Klimes-Dougan et al, 2009;Lienemann et al, 2013).…”

“…Highlighting the potential for aversive outcomes, Lienemann, Siegel, and Crano (2013) reported that a message encouraging help-seeking (e.g. "You are not to blame for the cause of your depression.…”

Comparing responses to differently framed and formatted persuasive messages to encourage help-seeking for depression in Japanese adults: a cross-sectional study with 2-month follow-up

“… 9 Meanwhile, previous studies have suggested that depression help-seeking messages have the potential to backfire; exposure to the messages may result in increased self-stigma and increased reluctance to help seeking (ie, boomerang effect). 10 11 Further evidence is needed to identify strategies for successful public health messaging with the aim of promoting access to mental healthcare.…”

Resistance, reactance, and misinterpretation: Highlighting the challenge of persuading people with depression to seek help

“…Among those directly targeting help-seeking among people with elevated levels of depressive symptomatology, there have been reports of success (e.g., Syzdek, Green, Lindgren, & Addis, 2016); however, other studies have struggled to achieve the desired impact (e.g., Costin et al, 2009), with some chronicling negative outcomes (e.g., Keeler & Siegel, 2016). For instance, Lienemann, Siegel, and Crano (2013) reported an experimental investigation in which reading a message (i.e., "You are not to blame for the cause of your depression. Depression is treatable if you are willing to seek help.…”