Stigma, Help Seeking, and Substance Use

Researchers used path analysis to examine self-stigma, help seeking, and alcohol and other drug (AOD) use in a community sample of individuals (N = 406) recruited through the crowdsourcing platform MTurk. Self-stigma of help seeking contributed to AOD use and was mediated by help-seeking attitudes....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Professional Counselor (Greensboro, N.C.) N.C.), 2020-07, Vol.10 (2), p.220-234
Main Authors: Gutierrez, Daniel, Crowe, Allison, Mullen, Patrick R, Pignato, Laura, Fan, Shuhui
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Addictive behaviors
Advocacy
Alcohol use
Analysis
Attitudes
Bias
Counseling
Counselor Educators
Counselor Training
Drinking
Drug abuse
Drug Use
Health services
Help Seeking
Help seeking behavior
Influence
Intervention
Literacy
Medical personnel
Mental disorders
Mental Health
Mental health care
Path Analysis
Perceptions
Positive Attitudes
Professionals
Public opinion
Self Concept
Self esteem
Stigma
Substance Abuse
Substance abuse treatment
Therapy
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Summary:Researchers used path analysis to examine self-stigma, help seeking, and alcohol and other drug (AOD) use in a community sample of individuals (N = 406) recruited through the crowdsourcing platform MTurk. Self-stigma of help seeking contributed to AOD use and was mediated by help-seeking attitudes. We discuss the implications for advocacy and stigma reduction in substance use treatment. Counselors and counselor educators can implement and advocate for interventions and training that increase positive attitudes toward seeking help, such as providing appropriate training with supervisees and counselors-in-training, providing clients and the community with mental health literacy, and engaging in more advocacy. Moreover, they can challenge thoughts of seeking help as weakness, normalize seeking psychological help, and discuss the benefits of counseling and therapy to address the development and effects of self-stigma of help seeking for individuals with substance use issues. Keywords: alcohol and drug use, self-stigma, help seeking, help-seeking attitudes, stigma reduction
ISSN:2164-3989
2164-3989
DOI:10.15241/dg.10.2.220