Psychiatric labels and other influences on young people's stigmatizing attitudes: Findings from an Australian national survey

Abstract

Background: Stigma is a major impediment to help seeking for mental disorders by young people. To reduce stigma and improve help seeking, a better understanding of the influences on different components of stigma for different disorders is required. Methods: In 2011, a telephone interview was conducted with a national sample of 2522 Australians aged 15-25 years. Participants were presented with a vignette of a young person portraying either depression, depression with suicidal thoughts, social phobia, post-traumatic stress disorder or psychosis. They were then asked what they thought was wrong with the person, exposure to mental health problems in themselves and in family or friends, stigmat..