1 National Institute of Public Health, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
2 National Association for Quality of Life, OZARA, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Int J Soc Psychiatry. 2017 Nov;63(7):614-621. doi: 10.1177/0020764017724819. Epub 2017 Aug 10.
Although effective treatment is available for a variety of mental disorders, the treatment and help-seeking gap remains high. One of the main obstacles to help-seeking behaviour is prevailing stigmatizing attitudes.
To examine attitudes within the general population towards seeking professional help in times of mental distress.
A representative general population survey ( N = 594) was conducted in Slovenia by means of an Internet-based questionnaire, covering data on demographic variables and attitudes towards help-seeking behaviour.
More stigmatizing attitudes towards help-seeking behaviour were found in men, single persons, those of a younger age and lower educational achievement and in respondents coming from regions with a high suicide rate. Furthermore, 52.50% of the total sample have had an experience with psychological problems, yet only 41.50% of those have sought professional help. Experience with help-seeking behaviour in the past was associated with less stigmatizing attitudes.
Knowledge and understanding of mental health problems are necessary prerequisites to seeking help, but not the only ones. To improve help-seeking behaviour, it is also important to combat stigmatizing attitudes. Additionally, destigmatizing campaigns should also focus on social norms.
尽管有多种精神障碍的有效治疗方法，但治疗和寻求帮助的差距仍然很大。寻求帮助行为的主要障碍之一是普遍存在的污名化态度。
调查一般人群在精神困扰时寻求专业帮助的态度。
通过互联网问卷对斯洛文尼亚的代表性一般人群进行了一项调查（N=594），涵盖了人口统计学变量和寻求帮助行为态度的数据。
在男性、单身人士、年龄较小、教育程度较低以及自杀率较高地区的受访者中，寻求帮助行为的污名化态度更为明显。此外，总样本中有 52.50%的人有过心理问题的经历，但只有 41.50%的人寻求过专业帮助。过去有过寻求帮助行为的人态度较为不污名化。
了解和理解心理健康问题是寻求帮助的必要前提，但不是唯一的前提。为了改善寻求帮助的行为，打击污名化态度也很重要。此外，去污名化运动也应该关注社会规范。
