Exploring the Social Norms of Help-Seeking in the Military

The study explored the relationship between Service Members’ personal beliefs and perceptions of peers’ beliefs about stigma-related barriers to mental health treatment. Eighty-nine Army National Guard soldiers were assessed using measures to rate beliefs about stigma-related barriers to mental health treatment and willingness to seek help. Results showed that personal beliefs were on average more positive than perceptions of peers’ belief, and that variance in willingness to seek help was better accounted for by Service Member's own beliefs about help-seeking. Implications for willingness to seek mental health treatment in the military are explored, as well as limitations and next steps for future research.