Date of Award

2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Ki Eun (Kay) Shin, Ph.D.

Second Advisor

Lauren Lipner, Ph.D.

Third Advisor

Stephanie Winkeljohn-Black, Ph.D.

Abstract

Muslims living in the United States (MLUS) have higher rates of depression (Sloan & Haner, 2023) and are more likely to report a history of suicide compared to other faith groups (Awaad et al., 2021). Nonetheless, help-seeking rates among Muslims remain lower than those among non-Muslims (Ahmad et al., 2023). Mental health stigma has been identified as a key barrier to seeking care, but its mechanisms and outcomes have been understudied among MLUS. The present study examined three types of stigma (mental health public stigma, mental health self-stigma, and mental health help-seeking stigma) and their associations with psychiatric symptoms and help-seeking outcomes among MLUS. MLUS with past-year depression (N = 150) were recruited via community and online outreach and completed an anonymous, 20-minute online survey including measures assessing mental health public stigma, mental health self-stigma, mental health help-seeking stigma, depression, suicidal ideation, and help-seeking attitudes and intentions. Results showed that mental health self-stigma was significantly associated with greater depression severity and suicidal ideation, and help-seeking intentions. Mental health self-stigma also mediated the association between mental health public stigma and depression, suicidal ideation, help-seeking attitudes, and intentions, confirming its central role in linking perceived societal stigma to individual distress. Mental health help-seeking stigma did not show significant mediating effects. Current findings extend the Internalized Stigma Model (Vogel et al., 2007) and Modified Labeling Theory (Link et al., 1989) to MLUS and highlight the importance of mental health self-stigma as an intervention point for both reducing distress and enhancing help-seeking among MLUS.

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