RESUMO
This study aimed to determine predictors of help-seeking intentions for symptoms of depression/anxiety and self-harm in adolescents. It focused on personal and perceived public stigma to gather data of value for the design of anti-stigma interventions. Participants (nâ¯=â¯722; 368 girls) were recruited from three cohorts of secondary school students in Ireland (mean ages: 1stâ¯=â¯12.9 years; 3rdâ¯=â¯14.9 years; 5thâ¯=â¯16.6 years). Hierarchical regression models indicated that perceived public stigma is a significant unique predictor of help-seeking intentions for depression [F(4, 717)â¯=â¯13.4, pâ¯<â¯.001] and self-harm [F(4, 717)â¯=â¯13.5, pâ¯<â¯.001]. This indicates that young people's beliefs about other people's stigma towards mental health problems was a stronger predictor of help-seeking intentions than their own stigma beliefs. These findings highlight the importance of looking separately at different types of stigma when investigating the role of stigma in predicting help-seeking intentions.