Help-Seeking Stigma and Mental Health Treatment Seeking Among Young Adult Veterans

Abstract

Veterans underutilize mental health services. We investigated the association between treatment-seeking stigma and utilization of mental health services in a sample of 812 young adult veterans. Higher perceived public stigma of treatment seeking was significantly related to lower treatment utilization. Although many veterans were concerned about negative perceptions if they were to seek treatment, a much smaller number of them endorsed that they would judge a fellow veteran negatively in similar situation. Targeting perceived public stigma of treatment seeking, through perceived norms interventions, might help narrow the gap between the need and receipt of help among veterans.

Keywords:

• Public stigma
• perceived public stigma
• barriers to treatment
• military culture
• mental health treatment seeking
• veterans
• mental health problems
• normative misperceptions
• mental health treatment utilization