Mental health-related stigmatisation, attitudes to mental healthcare, perceived barriers and self-stigmatisation
| Domain | Stigma item | Endorsed scale item | P | |||
| Doctor (n=678) n (%) | Regular (n=667) n (%) | Reserve (n=124) n (%) | Ex-service (n=657) n (%) | |||
| Sti | Not wanting a mental health problem to be on my medical records. | 455 (67.3) | 301 (45.1) | 64 (51.6) | 250 (38.1) | <0.001 |
| Sti | My unit leaders/bosses might treat me differently. | 438 (64.8) | 303 (45.5) | 54 (43.5) | 255 (38.8) | <0.001 |
| Sti | Members of my unit or my colleagues might have less confidence in me. | 414 (61.3) | 287 (43.0) | 52 (41.9) | 205 (31.2) | <0.001 |
| Sti | It would harm my career. | 365 (54.0) | 248 (37.2) | 47 (37.9) | 176 (26.8) | <0.001 |
| Sti | It would be too embarrassing. | 326 (48.3) | 232 (34.8) | 46 (37.1) | 167 (25.4) | <0.001 |
| Sti | I would be seen as weak (by those who are important to me). | 318 (47.0) | 248 (37.2) | 46 (37.1) | 203 (30.9) | <0.001 |
| Sti | Concern about what my friends or family might think. | 263 (38.9) | 200 (30.0) | 42 (33.9) | 181 (27.5) | <0.001 |
| Sti | My leaders/bosses would blame me for the problem. | 138 (20.4) | 96 (14.4) | 23 (18.5) | 81 (12.3) | <0.001 |
| PB | There would be difficulty getting time off work for treatment. | 309 (45.8) | 79 (11.8) | 28 (22.6) | 117 (17.8) | <0.001 |
| PB | I don’t know where to get help. | 113 (16.7) | 30 (4.5) | 12 (9.7) | 46 (7.0) | <0.001 |
| PB | It is difficult to get an appointment. | 109 (16.1) | 41 (6.1) | 18 (14.5) | 104 (12.8) | <0.001 |
| PB | I don’t have adequate transport. | 17 (2.5) | 5 (0.7) | 1 (0.8) | 6 (0.9) | <0.05 |
| Att | Wanting to solve the problem on my own. | 401 (59.6) | 356 (53.4) | 66 (53.2) | 347 (52.8) | 0.05 |
| Att | My visit would not remain confidential. | 160 (23.7) | 60 (9.0) | 21 (16.9) | 54 (8.2) | <0.001 |
| Att | Mental health treatment has harmful side effects. | 48 (7.1) | 33 (4.9) | 10 (8.1) | 50 (7.6) | 0.20 |
| Att | I would think less of a team member if I knew he/she was receiving mental health counselling. | 44 (6.5) | 44 (6.6) | 5 (4.0) | 34 (5.2) | 0.50 |
| Att | I have had previous bad experiences with mental health professionals. | 29 (4.3) | 54 (8.1) | 14 (11.3) | 90 (13.7) | <0.001 |
| Att | Mental healthcare doesn’t work. | 28 (4.1) | 27 (4.0) | 10 (8.1) | 40 (6.1) | 0.09 |
| Att | My leaders/bosses discourage the use of mental health services. | 26 (3.9) | 20 (3.0) | 7 (5.6) | 22 (3.3) | 0.50 |
| Att | I don’t trust mental health professionals. | 16 (2.4) | 28 (4.2) | 7 (5.6) | 47 (7.2) | <0.001 |
| Self | I would feel inadequate if I went to a mental health professional for help. | 233 (65.5) | 215 (32.2) | 34 (27.4) | 180 (27.4) | <0.05 |
| Self | I would feel worse about myself if I could not solve my own problems. | 347 (51.3) | 278 (41.7) | 46 (37.1) | 259 (39.5) | <0.001 |
| Self | I would be less satisfied with myself if I went to a mental health professional. | 260 (38.5) | 165 (24.7) | 32 (25.8) | 156 (23.7) | <0.001 |
| Self | It would make me feel inferior to ask a mental health professional for help. | 149 (22.1) | 126 (18.9) | 26 (21.0) | 112 (17.0) | 0.13 |
| Self | Seeking psychological help would make me feel less intelligent. | 69 (10.2) | 62 (9.3) | 14 (11.3) | 54 (8.2) | 0.54 |
P values are for Pearson’s χ2 test.
Att, attitudes to mental healthcare; PB, perceived barriers to care; Self, self-stigmatisation; Sti, stigmatisation.