The study evaluated the psychometrics of a newly developed scale that measures the perceived familial stigma of LGBQ-sexuality. Exploratory, confirmatory, bifactor, and omega reliability analyses were conducted on a set of items and suggest these scores reliably measure the intended construct, with specific factors of homonegativity, discretion,…

Help-seeking stigma predicts more negative attitudes towards seeking psychological help, yet it remains unclear how distress levels might impact this relationship. Increased distress could diminish the relationship between stigma and help-seeking attitudes, as the potential benefits of seeking psychological help might outweigh the potential risks.…

Stigma associated with seeking help has been found to be a key help-seeking barrier, however its role is less clear for: (a) adolescents, (b) groups outside the United States and (c) different types of therapy. This study addresses these omissions by examining the relationships between perceptions of public stigma of mental illness and the…

Public and self-stigmas have been implicated as factors in the underutilization of individual counseling. However, group counseling is also underutilized, and yet scholars know very little about the role of different types of stigma on attitudes toward seeking group counseling. Therefore, the current study examined the relationships between public…

Investigations into the reasons why people seek counseling have, for the most part, focused on approach factors, those variables that are associated with a potential client's increased likelihood of seeking psychological services. The purpose of this research, however, is to explore the role of avoidance factors, those factors that are associated…