Extending the Theoretical Understanding of Mental Illness and Help-Seeking Self-Stigmas

This study examined the unique relationships of the self-stigma of help seeking (SSOSH) and self-stigma of mental illness (SSOMI) on perceptions of oneself (self-esteem and life satisfaction), help-seeking intentions, and help-seeing behaviors (choosing to click a link to obtain information about mental health and choosing to receive feedback about their current level of distress) in a sample of community adults (N = 410). Few studies have examined the role of both self-stigma of help seeking and the self-stigma of mental illness on helpseeking decisions. This is an important omission as theories such as the internalized stigma model suggest that the two forms of self-stigma are distinct and uniquely predict mental health-related outcomes. Consistent with theory, structural equation modeling results showed that both stigmas uniquely predicted lower self-esteem, though only the SSOMI predicted lower life satisfaction. Only the SSOSH uniquely predicted lower intentions to seek help. Interestingly, both stigmas predicted the likelihood of deciding to receive the results of a psychological distress screening though in opposite directions. The SSOSH was associated with a decreased likelihood while the SSOMI was associated with an increased likelihood. Furthermore, the SSOMI moderated the link between psychological distress and decisions to obtain mental health information such that the relationship was only significant for those reporting low SSOMI scores. Overall, this pattern of relationships across the self-report and behavioral measures supports the theoretical distinction between these selfstigmas and the importance of clinicians and researchers paying attention to ways to reduce both.