The Relationship of Mental Health Stigma and Help-Seeking Behavior of College Students

Abstract

People perceive mental health differently when it comes to health in general. Though the public is beginning to know about mental health through various sources, they are still not yet received when it comes to speaking about it. The stigma of being judged, rejected and ridiculed turns out to be a barrier in seeking help. As college students experience various psychological distress in meeting the demands of collegiate life, they become more vulnerable in experiencing anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, to name a few. However, due to the stigma that accompanies mental health diagnoses and treatments, numerous studies have shown that this population is very hesitant to seek help. That is why exploring the stigma on mental health and the intention to seek help are essential towards understanding and promoting mental health especially in the academe where stressors of any kind are present. This will help institutions to design programs and protocols anchored in helping and keeping students' psychological well-being. This study made use of the quantitative research design,in particular, the correlational method. Respondents were 482 college students from the biggest university in the Province of Tarlac, Philippines. Instruments used were Discrimination-Devaluation Scale (D-DS) of Bruce Link and Colleagues which was adapted by Eisenberg et al., (2009); and the General Help-Seeking Questionnaire-Original Scale (GHSQ) by Wilson, Deane, Ciarrochi, & Rickwood, (2005). The findings of the study showed that: (a) the perceived public stigma of the students is higher than their stigma; (b) help-seeking intention from informal sources of help is higher than that from formal sources such as parents and an intimate partner; (c) perceived public stigma was positively associated with seeking help from an intimate partner and negatively associated with seeking help from other relatives or other family members, and (d) personal stigma was associated with seeking help from other relatives or family members and phone helpline but not with seeking help from anyone. The findings have implications for addressing the stigma, provision of assessment and intervention, and advocacies for helping break the stigma on mental health and encouraging the use of available services to students in need of care.