Clement, S., Schauman, O., Graham, T., Maggioni, F., Evans-Lacko, S. 
ORCID: 0000-0003-4691-2630, Bezborodovs, N., Morgan, C., Rüsch, N., Brown, J. S. L. and Thornicroft, G.
(2015)
What is the impact of mental health-related stigma on help-seeking? A systematic review of quantitative and qualitative studies.
Psychological Medicine, 45 (01).
pp. 11-27.
ISSN 0033-2917
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Individuals often avoid or delay seeking professional help for mental health problems. Stigma may be a key deterrent to help-seeking but this has not been reviewed systematically. Our systematic review addressed the overarching question: What is the impact of mental health-related stigma on help-seeking for mental health problems? Subquestions were: (a) What is the size and direction of any association between stigma and help-seeking? (b) To what extent is stigma identified as a barrier to help-seeking? (c) What processes underlie the relationship between stigma and help-seeking? (d) Are there population groups for which stigma disproportionately deters help-seeking? METHOD: Five electronic databases were searched from 1980 to 2011 and references of reviews checked. A meta-synthesis of quantitative and qualitative studies, comprising three parallel narrative syntheses and subgroup analyses, was conducted. RESULTS: The review identified 144 studies with 90,189 participants meeting inclusion criteria. The median association between stigma and help-seeking was d = - 0.27, with internalized and treatment stigma being most often associated with reduced help-seeking. Stigma was the fourth highest ranked barrier to help-seeking, with disclosure concerns the most commonly reported stigma barrier. A detailed conceptual model was derived that describes the processes contributing to, and counteracting, the deterrent effect of stigma on help-seeking. Ethnic minorities, youth, men and those in military and health professions were disproportionately deterred by stigma. CONCLUSIONS: Stigma has a small- to moderate-sized negative effect on help-seeking. Review findings can be used to help inform the design of interventions to increase help-seeking.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Official URL: | http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJourna... |
| Additional Information: | © 2015 Cambridge University Press |
| Divisions: | Care Policy and Evaluation Centre |
| Subjects: | H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) |
| Date Deposited: | 06 Aug 2015 13:46 |
| Last Modified: | 02 Nov 2025 22:36 |
| URI: | http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/62974 |
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