Depression Stigma

Christopher Roth, Peter Schwardmann () and Egon Tripodi
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Peter Schwardmann: Carnegie Mellon University

No 286, ECONtribute Discussion Papers Series from University of Bonn and University of Cologne, Germany

Abstract: Throughout history, people with mental illness have been discriminated against and stigmatized. Our experiment provides a new measure of perceived depression stigma and then investigates the causal effect of perceived stigma on help-seeking in a sample of 1,844 Americans suffering from depression. A large majority of our participants overestimate the extent of stigma associated with depression. In contrast to prior correlational evidence, lowering perceived social stigma through an information intervention leads to a reduction in the demand for psychotherapy. A mechanism experiment reveals that this information increases optimism about future mental health, thereby reducing the perceived need for therapy.

Keywords: Depression; Stigma; Information; Psychotherapy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 86
Date: 2024-03
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-exp and nep-hea
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https://www.econtribute.de/RePEc/ajk/ajkdps/ECONtribute_286_2024.pdf Second version, 2024 (application/pdf)

Related works:
Working Paper: Depression Stigma (2024)
Working Paper: Depression Stigma (2024)
Working Paper: Depression Stigma (2024)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ajk:ajkdps:286

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