Keywords

Rotc, stigma, help seeking, military, army, mental health

Abstract

Mental health stigma among military service members has been recognized as a significant barrier to mental health treatment as researchers (Greenberg, Langston, & Gould, 2007; Greene-Shortridge, Britt, & Castro, 2007; Hoge et al., 2004; Pietrzak, Johnson, Goldstein, Malley, & Southwick, 2009) have concluded that military service members are reluctant to engage in help seeking behaviors to avoid negative labeling in the form of stereotyping. Additionally, links have been made between leadership and stigma, acknowledging that military service members are more likely to seek mental health treatment if they perceive that their leadership is supportive (Britt, Wright, & Moore, 2012; Hoge et al., 2004; Wright et al., 2009). Each of the aforementioned authors has advocated for an increased attention on those military service members with mental health issues by offering new programs and providing leadership support. The military has attempted to address both of these suggestions with the introduction of resilience training and increased screening for mental health issues. Unfortunately, despite such interventions, prevalence rates for diagnoses such as PTSD remain at high levels. A reason for this may be due to a lack of attention to the origins of the messages that future leaders receive regarding mental health. The purpose of this study was to investigate the thoughts, feelings, and beliefs of US Army ROTC students and the possible presence of mental health stigma at their level of military involvement (i.e. pre-commission). The author sought to understand how biases against mental health are formed at one of the earliest points of cultural indoctrination within the military structure. This dissertation will contain an overview of the identified mental health beliefs of US Army ROTC students at a large southern university. How these beliefs relate to mental health stigma and help seeking behaviors will also be explored.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2014

Semester

Summer

Advisor

Hagedorn, W. Bryce

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

College

College of Education and Human Performance

Degree Program

Education; Counselor Education

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0005345

URL

http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0005345

Language

English

Release Date

August 2014

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Doctoral Dissertation (Open Access)

Subjects

Dissertations, Academic -- Education and Human Performance; Education and Human Performance -- Dissertations, Academic

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