Stigma associated with seeking help has been found to be a key help-seeking barrier, however its role is less clear for: (a) adolescents, (b) groups outside the United States and (c) different types of therapy. This study addresses these omissions by examining the relationships between perceptions of public stigma of mental illness and the…

Despite the prevalence of mental health problems, society continues to stigmatize and discriminate against people with mental illness and in particular, schizophrenia. Among the negative consequences of stigma, is that some individuals with mental illness internalize negative stereotypes about themselves, referred to as self-stigma, which is…

Adolescents are most likely to receive mental health services in schools compared to other settings; however, few studies have examined barriers to mental health help seeking at school for ethnic minority adolescents. The current mixed-methods study utilized surveys and semi-structured interviews to explore the mental health literacy (MHL),…

The study presented in this report evaluates the effects of a school-based theatrical performance "Walk In Our Shoes" on a group of predominantly Latino youth in Santa Barbara County, California. The performance follows the lives of four (fictional) high school students and introduces their various experiences with both mental health…

Self-stigma is a phenomenon in which negative public stereotypes about mental illness are internalized and can undermine help-seeking. Unfortunately, little is known about how self-stigmatization relates to positive well-being indicators among youth. A sample of 134 high school students completed established measures of self-stigma, well-being,…

Research suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated the need for mental health support, with an alarming increase in the number of adolescents reporting that their mental health has worsened during this period (Rodriguez, 2022). Well before the pandemic, substantial evidence indicated that young people were facing a rising tide of…

In the current study, we investigated whether adolescents high in perfectionism are prone to experiencing self-stigma for seeking psychological help. This work is based on the premise that the need to seek help for psychological difficulties is not consistent with idealistic personal goals of perfectionistic young people and their desire to retain…

In an effort to decrease the suicide rate in adolescents, many interventions have focused on school-based suicide prevention programs. Alternatively, depression education in schools might be effective in decreasing the morbidity, mortality, and stigma associated with adolescent depression. The Adolescent Depression Awareness Program (ADAP)…