Perceived mental illness stigma among family and friends of young people with depression and its role in help-seeking: a qualitative inquiry.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Depressive disorders are a serious public health concern. Left untreated, further clinical distress and impairment in important life domains may arise. Yet, the treatment gap remains large. Prior research has shown that individuals with depressive disorders prefer seeking help from informal sources such as family and friends ahead of formal sources. However, this preference has its disadvantages such as experiencing actual, perceived and internalized stigmatizing responses from them which may delay or deter help-seeking. This paper aimed to determine the role of perceived stigma among family and friends in an individual's help-seeking behavior.

Methods

Data were collected using semi-structured interviews with patients with depressive disorders from a tertiary psyc

SUBMITTER: Samari E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8832742 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature