Abstract
Mental health service use is helpful but rare among young people at risk of psychosis. The label and stigma associated with mental illness may affect attitudes towards help-seeking. We examined 67 individuals at risk of psychosis over the course of 1 year. An increase of self-labelling as “mentally ill” predicted more positive attitudes towards psychiatric medication, while increased perceived stigma and the cognitive appraisal of stigma as a stressor predicted poorer attitudes towards psychotherapy after 1 year. Early intervention could improve non-stigmatizing awareness of at-risk mental state and reduce the public stigma associated with at-risk status to facilitate help-seeking.
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This study was supported by the Zürich Impulse Program for the Sustainable Development of Mental Health Services (www.zinep.ch).
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Xu, Z., Müller, M., Heekeren, K. et al. Self-labelling and stigma as predictors of attitudes towards help-seeking among people at risk of psychosis: 1-year follow-up. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 266, 79–82 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-015-0576-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-015-0576-2