Mental health stigma in active duty service members receiving mental health services
- Zumwalde, J. K., Hawkins, B. L., & Young, K. M. (2023). Mental health stigma in active duty service members receiving mental health services. Military Medicine, usad159. https://doi.org/10.1093/milmed/usad159
- Military mental health stigma is a social-cognitive process in which Service members feel motivated to avoid the label of mental illness and, in turn, avoid seeking or receiving mental health care for different reasons (e.g., harmed reputation due to treatment, potential career disruption, confidentiality concerns). This study examined the extent to which symptom severity was related to perceived mental health stigma in a sample of 91 active-duty Service members seeking treatment at a 4-week partial hospitalization program for trauma recovery. Participants reported overall mental health symptoms, depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, posttraumatic stress symptoms, and perceptions of military mental health stigma. Overall, more severe mental health symptoms related to greater mental health stigma. Additionally, some differences in mental health stigma emerged by race.
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