The Effects of Mental Health Literacy and Perceived Social Support on Mental Health Stigma Across Racial and Ethnic Groups in the United States: A Survey-based Analysis
The goals of this study were to determine a) whether minoritized groups in the United States had lower levels of mental health literacy (MHL) and higher levels of stigma, b) whether people with higher rates of MHL and social support had lower rates of stigma and c) whether MHL and perceived social support were stronger predictors of stigma levels depending on racial group membership. I hypothesized that people with both high levels of MHL and high levels of social support would have lower levels of mental health stigma, minoritized groups would have lower levels of MHL and social support and therefore higher levels of stigma in comparison to Non-Hispanic White Americans, and finally, race would be a significant moderator in the relationship between MHL and perceived social support on stigma levels. This study contained a total of 510 participants: 93 Asian Americans, 107 Black or African Americans, 95 Hispanic or Latinx Americans, and 215 White Americans. Participants were recruited through Amazon’s MTurk service and were given a self-reported survey to measure MHL, perceived social support, and stigma levels. The results indicated MHL and social support significantly affected stigma levels in participants, with MHL having a significant negative relationship with stigma and social support having a significant positive relationship with stigma. However further analysis showed no significant difference in MHL or stigma rates across the different races, refuting the second hypothesis. Finally, race was not found to be a significant moderator in the relationship between MHL, social support, and stigma
