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Publication Date
2020
Abstract
Psychological disorders are prevalent in college students, but fewer than 25% of students with mental disorders seek treatment. One factor important in predicting help-seeking is stigma. We looked at self-stigma and public stigma as related to formal and informal help-seeking. Self-stigma is conceptualized as internalizing feelings of prejudice toward oneself while public stigma represents prejudice about mental health held by others. We hypothesized that students with higher self-stigma would be less likely to seek both formal and informal help. We further hypothesized that higher public stigma is related to lower formal help-seeking, but have no relationship with informal help-seeking.