There is a need for more psychological studies that inform culture-specific adaptations in psychotherapy among Polynesian Americans. The use of humor has been identified as a potential adaptation in psychotherapy. Humor can be a catalyst for building and strengthening a healthy working alliance between counselor and client. The utilization of humor in therapy has significantly reduced mental health-seeking stigma. Evidence of the use of humor exists among Polynesian people prior to western colonization of Polynesia which suggests humor to be a culturally salient practice. The current study explored attitudes of seeking mental health counseling among Polynesian Americans while investigating the potential predictive relationship of humor coping and humor production on depression, stress, anxiety. The current study reports the findings of Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Moreover, the psychometric properties of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale--21 (DASS-21), the Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Help (ATSPH), and Multidimensional Sense of Humor Scale (MSHS) among Polynesian Americans were investigated. Overall Polynesian American participants n= 613 reported a significant positive relationship between the level of negative mental health states of depression, anxiety, stress, and the level of willingness toward seeking professional help. Another main finding was the significant relationship between these negative mental health states with and higher levels of skepticism towards seeking professional help. Humor coping was found to be a salient practice among male participants as well as with participants 18 to 29 years of age. Social humor production and personal humor production were marked preferences among participants 18 to 49 years of age. These findings suggest an urgent need for the development and implementation of culture-specific adaptations in psychotherapy among Polynesian Americans.

It has been demonstrated psychologists are more likely to over-diagnose clients to obtain reimbursement if clients are using insurance (Pomerantz & Segrist, 2006). Although diagnoses are helpful in providing direction for treatment plans, incorrect diagnoses may be stigmatizing and result in flawed care (Wahl, 1999). Using an experimental design with video vignettes simulating therapy sessions, this paper will explore whether psychologists tend to excessively believe in false diagnoses when forced to provide them, as well as whether those labels negatively affect psychologists' opinions of clients. Hierarchical multiple regression will be used to determine if those in the group forced to diagnose a client tend to over-diagnose and have a more negative opinion of the client. / text

Class of 2017 Abstract / Objectives: To explore whether rural pharmacists express more stigmatized attitudes towards patients with psychiatric disorders, compared to their urban counterparts. Methods: Data was collected from participants attending the AzPA Southwestern Clinical Pharmacy Seminar during a weekend in February, 2015, using a questionnaire adapted from the Mental Illness: Clinicians’ Attitudes (MICA) Scale v4. The questionnaire consisted of demographic and attitude assessment questions regarding patients suffering from psychiatric disorders across different domains (quality of life, fear of patients, admitting to having a psychiatric disorder, and more). Participants were also asked if they would be interested in taking a continuing education course on mental health. Results: The majority of participants that completed the study were women (75%) and identified racially as white (89%). Pharmacists practice settings were as follows: 79% of pharmacists worked in urban areas and 21% in rural areas. Rural pharmacists displayed significantly higher rates of stigmatized attitudes compared to their urban peers (mean scale score 37.65 vs. 40.15, p=0.049). Conclusions: Pharmacists that practice in rural settings expressed more stigmatized attitudes, compared to their urban counterparts, towards patients diagnosed with psychiatric disorders.

Introduction: Both police and Armed Forces personnel are at increased risk of encountering psychological trauma with the prevalence of mental health problems higher than in the general population. Appropriate and effective mental health services are crucial but there is a marked lack of take-up of services. This research considered how the attitudes of police officers with a military background affected their help-seeking for mental health problems. Methodology: A phenomenological approach was used with the aims of producing rich data with the insider viewpoint and generating theory about the process. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 male ex-Armed Forces police officers. A social constructivist Grounded Theory approach was used to analyse the data. Findings: Police officers with an Armed Forces background viewed themselves as a discrete social group. There was significant cognitive separation between them and their non-service peers, the police organisation, those with mental illness and mental health services. Four group norms, formed during military service, were identified as relevant to the research topic: a) Mission Focus, b) Strength and Control, c) Cohesion and d) Be the Best. These norms were used to determine the stigma associated with both on-set and off-set responsibility for mental health problems within the group. Group norms underpinned the acceptable strategies for managing mental health problems. Education around mental health was not seen as personally relevant at the time. Accepting a mental health problem was the greatest barrier to care and meant an acceptance of norm violation in oneself often triggering an existential crisis. Potential helpers were judged against the group norms and this either hindered or facilitated the process. As the individual recovered, they reframed the group norms in relation to their experience of mental illness and reported Post Traumatic Growth. A theoretical model for the help-seeking process is proposed. Implications: Anti-stigma interventionists need to consider the individual’s perception of their loss of a valued identity and their violation of group norms. The stereotyping and generalisation of police managers and mental health services as “other” reduces the likelihood of accepting offers of support from those sources. Education must connect with the early beliefs from military service in order to effect change. Organisational denial or ambivalence about the subject needs tackling just as much as the denial in the group and individuals. The group holds much of the solution to the problem within its own membership and peer supporters who have overcome their own mental health challenges can be better used by the organisation to both prevent and manage the problem. They need to able to provide timely, trusted referrals to competent mental health services.

Societal stigma surrounding mental health has adversely affected individuals with mental health concerns. Stigma often keeps persons with mental illness from seeking treatment from mental health professionals, bringing such issues to their primary care providers instead. This is problematic, as primary care providers have been shown to endorse mental health stigma toward patients with mental illness. Integrated healthcare, a system in which behavioral health services are integrated into primary care settings, has been hypothesized as a method for reducing mental health stigma among primary care providers and the general public. However, there has been little research examining the impact of integrated healthcare on primary care provider’s endorsement of mental health stigma. The present study was an effort to address this gap in the literature by examining the impact of working in integrated health care settings, personal and professional experience with mental health, and training in mental health and diversity on the endorsement of mental health stigma among primary care providers. The present study contributes to the understanding of the impact of factors in endorsement of mental health stigma among primary care providers in the United States. Contrary to my hypothesis that integrated healthcare reduces mental health stigma, the present study revealed that healthcare integration alone was not a significant predictor of lower endorsement of mental health stigma among primary care providers in the present sample. In contrast, training in mental health and diversity was found to be the most significant predictor of mental health stigma, with participants reporting more in-depth training in these areas endorsing lower levels of mental health stigma. Further research is needed to confirm this association and establish a clearer understanding of the role of integrated healthcare in reduction of mental health stigma. These results can be used to assist in improving training in research regarding mental health stigma and integrated healthcare.

Postpartum Depression (PPD) has gained well-deserved traction in healthcare policy discourse as a public health concern. Although one in seven American women are believed to experience PPD, mental illness stigma induces feelings of shame and guilt, reduces treatment-seeking behaviors, and ultimately contributes to a low PPD diagnosis rate. Risk of experiencing PPD is associated with various contextual factors, yet little is known about the association between stigma and PPD risk factors. A multiple-segment factorial vignette was used with 1,871 respondents to examine the impact of maternal age, depression history, infant temperament, and diagnosis on attitudes toward PPD. In addition, the impact of an educational video on PPD symptom recognition and stigmatizing attitudes was examined with a subsample of 1,178 respondents. Results demonstrated that a mother’s age, history of depression, and her infant’s temperament impacted respondents’ attribution of her symptoms to baby blues or PPD, and also influenced stigmatizing attitudes toward her PPD experience. Results also revealed that the educational video had a positive effect on symptom recognition and reduced stigmatizing views. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Research shows that a considerable number of children and adolescents suffer needlessly from psychological problems and only about 50% of those receive the necessary services. Considering the impact of untreated child psychological problems on problems in adulthood, it is important to examine the influence of attitudes on seeking mental health service for children. Currently, no known measure exists to measure attitudes toward mental health services for children. Building on previous research, the goal of the present study was to develop a measure of individuals' attitudes toward mental health services for children. Using confirmatory factor analysis, the factor structure was assessed using a sample of university students (N = 250). In addition, several hypotheses were tested examining the influence of previous experience with mental health services on attitudes towards psychological services and mental health stigma. Finally, differences in child characteristics on intended help-seeking were examined. The measure developed consists of 26-items scored from 0 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Overall, results indicated that the 3-factor structure of the measure developed was valid and reliable. Also, consistent with previous research on mental health services results supported the hypotheses of the current study. Future research will examine whether the 3-factor structure is replicated using a sample of parents.

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With the introduction of the UK Government’s inclusive ideology in the late 20th century, increased pressure was put on schools serving adolescent psychiatric units to support their pupils to return to mainstream education. However, there is a perception that a factor that makes the transition process difficult is the attitude of mainstream pupils towards their peers with mental health problems. The purpose of this research was to explore mainstream pupils’ perceptions of mental health problems and the extent to which their understandings might lead to stigmatising attitudes. A theoretical perspective encompassing the ideas of social constructionism, interpretavism and symbolic interactionism, combined with a linguistic based approach, underpinned the development of an empathetic methodological approach to researching sensitive topics with adolescents. The research involved collecting data using a sequence of questionnaires, individual interviews and group interviews with pupils in three secondary schools within socially diverse communities. The questionnaire was presented in comic booklet form and included such techniques as cartoons, vignettes, and adapted familiarity and social distance scales. This dissertation reveals ways in which young people create their personal constructs around mental health and the complexities of the nature of stigma. It also highlights the implications that these findings have for staff and pupils involved in the transition process and for the development of practice in this field.

Suicide is a significant public health concern and the second leading cause of death for college students. Perceived stress, depression, and mental health stigma are established risk factors for suicidal behavior; however, their interrelationships are unknown. Data were collected from 913 collegiate housing residents (70.8% female; N = 646). Using data from self-report measures, depressive symptoms were examined as a mediator of the relation between stress and suicidal behavior, along with the moderating effect of mental health stigma. Depressive symptoms partially mediated the stress–suicide linkage, and mental health stigma was a significant moderator of the associations between stress and depression, depression and suicidal behavior, and stress and suicidal behavior. Stigmatized attitudes toward mental health treatment, including fear of social repercussion, may exacerbate the deleterious impact of stress on psychopathology and suicide risk. Individual-level therapeutic strategies targeting stress and psychopathology, as well as public health approaches that directly address and attempt to reduce mental health stigma, may reduce suicide risk in college students.