Campus Location
Abilene Campus (Residential)
Date of Award
5-2022
Document Type
Thesis
Department
Social Work
Degree Name
Master of Science
Committee Chair or Primary Advisor
Alan Lipps
Second Committee Member or Secondary Advisor
Malcolm Scott
Third Committee Member or Committee Reader
Maria Bibiloni
Abstract
A psychiatric disorder is perhaps an uncomfortable topic that isn’t discussed enough in the military. However, the nature of the profession (i.e., the possibility of combat exposure) increases the risk of mental health disorders in the military. Despite the increasing awareness of the effects of untreated mental health conditions, a treatment gap still exists within the military culture. The present study aims to describe the prevalence of stigma in the military, as well as examine related factors, such as leadership behaviors and the associations between endorsed and anticipated stigma and treatment seeking intentions. Utilizing a questionnaire, this study investigated the extent to which stigma exists in a sample of U.S Army active-duty soldiers. The goal of this study was to identify the factors that contributed to their reluctance to seek care. By understanding the dynamics of treatment seeking behaviors and the gaps associated with care, future policy changes can be made that focus on normalizing mental health treatment in the military.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Gray, Alicea, "Stigma as a Barrier to Military Mental Health Services" (2022). Digital Commons @ ACU, Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 478.
https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/etd/478