Reducing Stigma Barriers to Help-Seeking Behaviors among College Students

Emily Reichert

Penn State University, USA.

DOI: 10.4236/psych.2012.310134                

Abstract

College students suffer disproportionately from depression, an illness with significant consequences that, untreated, escalates in severity. A review of literature reveals that seeking help for this health issue is often stigmatized, reducing the likelihood of treatment. While the literature identifies the types of stigma, less is known about the communicative processes involved in stigma coping. This paper applies Meisenbach’s (2010) Theory of Stigma Management Communication (SMC) to this issue, suggested strategies researching depression stigma coping as well as new and promising intervention strategies to increase help seeking rates among college students.

Keywords

Depression; Stigma Management Communication; College Students; Help Seeking

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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