The stigma of seeking psychological or psychotherapeutic help among Slovenian students

Abstract

Stigma is defined as being perceived as insufficient by society or to perceive yourself as insufficient because of some socially unacceptable psychological or physical feature. The stigma of mental disorder is one of the most common reasons why people who suffer from mental disorder do not seek therapy. The aim of this study was to examine to what degree is the stigma of seeking psychological or psychotherapeutic help expressed among Slovenian students depending on gender, experience with mental disorder, place of residence in Slovenia and attachment style. Data was collected from 211 students, aged 18–26, 146 were women. They filled in the Perceived Devaluation discrimination scale, Self-stigma of seeking help scale and Relationship questionnaire. Results show that people with preoccupied attachment style and men express more self-stigma. Higher social stigma was found in respondents from the eastern part of  Slovenia. On the basis of our results, we can therefore conclude that gender, place of residence in Slovenia and attachment style have an important impact on the attitudes of Slovenian students toward seeking psychological or psychotherapeutic help.