STIGMA OF DEPRESSION AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH ATTITUDES TOWARD SEEKING PROFESSIONAL HELP AMONG STUDENTS

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the attitude towards professional help seeking and its association with stigma for depressive disorders in a specific group of Iranian youth. Method: Students from four different faculties of Tehran University and Tehran University of Medical Sciences entered in this cross-sectional study. Level of Familiarity with Mental Illness Questionnaire, Attribution Questionnaire-27, and Attitudes toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help Scale were administered to the subjects. Based on the results of the mentioned tests, the relationship of attitude toward seeking professional help with different cognitive, emotional and behavioral factors of stigmatizing individuals with depressive disorder was assessed. Results: 407 students participated in this study. The highest level of familiarity with psychiatric disorders was observed in individual whose acquaintance with psychiatric disorders was through seeing movies depicting mentally disordered characters (30.7%). In comparison with women, men significantly considered depressive disorder patients as dangerous, and tended to believe that these patients should be isolated from the society. Women had a significantly higher positive attitude toward seeking professional help for the treatment of depression. There was a positive correlation between positive attitude towards seeking professional help and three dimensions of stigmatization: pity, inclination towards assistance and coercion. Conclusion: Three cognitive, emotional and behavioural factors of stigmatization towards patients with depressive disorder (i.e. pity, inclination towards assistance and coercion) are associated with more positive attitudes toward seeking treatment. A more comprehensive assessment of this relationship as well as discovering possible mediating factors could help to develop more effective strategies for removing stigmas and reducing obstacles of treatment seeking.