Abstract:

Self- stigma is individual constructs of an individual’s personality by internalizing other people’s stereotypes and defining one’s self by creating a stereotype. Self-stigma prevents people from seeking help when they are in need. The purpose of the study is to examine the validity and reliability of a Turkish version of Self-Stigma of Seeking Psychological Help Scale developed by Vogel, Wade and Haake (2006). The participants in this study were 544 university students, 67 % females and 30 % males, 3 % unreported gender. The age range of the participants varied between 17 to 33 years. (M = 20.54, Sd = 1.70). The exploratory and confirmatory item analyses of the scale suggested that the scale had a single dimension. The SSPHS scores were found to be negatively correlated with self-esteem, social support and, life satisfaction, but positively correlated with Brief Symptom Inventory and seeking for psychological help. Results showed that the scale was found to have satisfactory internal reliability. Results are discussed in the frame of literature related to self-stigma of seeking help

Keywords: