Cited by 402Mental Health Treatment and AccessSuicide and Self-Harm StudiesGender Roles and Identity Studies

Stigma as a barrier to seeking health care among military personnel with mental health problems

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Sharp, M.-L., Fear, N. T., Rona, R. J., Wessely, S., Greenberg, N., Jones, N., Goodwin, L.·2015·Epidemiologic Reviews

Abstract

Approximately 60% of military personnel who experience mental health problems do not seek help, yet many of them could benefit from professional treatment. Across military studies, one of the most frequently reported barriers to help-seeking for mental health problems is concerns about stigma. It is, however, less clear how stigma influences mental health service utilization. This review will synthesize existing research on stigma, focusing on those in the military with mental health problems. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies between 2001 and 2014 to examine the prevalence of stigma for seeking help for a mental health problem and its association with help-seeking intentions/mental health service utilization. Twenty papers met the search criteria. Weighted prevalence estimates for the 2 most endorsed stigma concerns were 44.2% (95% confidence interval: 37.1, 51.4) for "My unit leadership might treat me differently" and 42.9% (95% confidence interval: 36.8, 49.0) for "I would be seen as weak." Nine studies found no association between anticipated stigma and help-seeking intentions/mental health service use and 4 studies found a positive association. One study found a negative association between self-stigma and intentions to seek help. Counterintuitively, those that endorsed high anticipated stigma still utilized mental health services or were interested in seeking help. We propose that these findings may be related to intention-behavior gaps or methodological issues in the measurement of stigma. Positive associations may be influenced by modified labeling theory. Additionally, other factors such as self-stigma and negative attitudes toward mental health care may be worth further attention in future investigation.

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  • Various barriers, such as stigma, prevent people from seeking professional help for mental health problems.

    “In addition to inadequate staffing, various other barriers, such as stigma (9, 10), prevent people from seeking professional help for mental health problems.”

    From Digital Therapeutic Alliance With Fully Automated Mental Health Smartphone Apps: A Narrative Review (2022) · cites this paper as [9]

    The Introduction identifies stigma and other barriers to help-seeking in military populations. But the section on help-seeking intentions and service use says most studies found no association between anticipated stigma and seeking care, so the claim that stigma prevents people from getting help is stronger and broader than the review supports. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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3 of the 90 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 3

  1. Arbisi PA, Rusch L, Polusny MA, et al. Does cynicism play a role in failure to obtain needed care? Mental health service Stigma and Help-Seeking Among Military Personnel 161 Epidemiol Rev 2015;37:144-162 Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/epirev/article/37/1/144/423274 by guest on 20 November 2023
  2. utilization among returning U.S. National Guard soldiers. Psychol Assess. 2013;25(3):991-996.
  3. Thornicroft G. Shunned. Discrimination Against People with Mental Illness. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press; 2006.

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Authors
Sharp, M.-L., Fear, N. T., Rona, R. J., Wessely, S., Greenberg, N., Jones, N., & Goodwin, L.
Affiliations
King's College London (GB)
Corresponding author
Sharp, M.-L.
Venue
Epidemiologic Reviews
Published
2015-01-01
Volume
37
Issue
1
Pages
144-162
ISSN
  • 0193-936X (ISSN-L)
  • 1478-6729
OpenAlex
W2167714940
Cited by
402
References
90
Citations by year
2026: 37 · 2025: 40 · 2024: 30 · 2023: 58 · 2022: 30 · 2021: 39 · 2020: 37 · 2019: 41 · 2018: 35 · 2017: 29 · 2016: 19 · 2015: 6
FWCI
4.63
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Epidemiologic Reviews (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Research Portal (King's College London) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • Lancaster EPrints (Lancaster University) (submittedVersion)
  • HighWire Press Open Archive (submittedVersion)
  • University of Birmingham Research Portal (University of Birmingham) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Funders
  • U.S. Department of Defense
  • Royal British Legion
  • National Institute for Health and Care Research (NF-SI-0512-10003)
  • King's College London
  • Economic and Social Research Council (1254620)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health Treatment and Access
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Suicide and Self-Harm Studies
  • Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Gender Roles and Identity Studies
Keywords
mental health stigma, help-seeking, military personnel, mental health service utilization, anticipated stigma, self-stigma, help-seeking intentions, intention-behavior gap, labeling theory, stigma prevalence
MeSH terms
Australia, Mental Disorders, United Kingdom, Humans, Military Personnel, New Zealand, Patient Acceptance of Health Care, United States, Social Stigma

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