Public stigma, self-stigma, and group therapy help-seeking intentions among clinical and non-clinical Arab adults in Israel

The current study examined a mediation model of help-seeking stigma towards group therapy in a community sample of clinical and non-clinical Arabs adults in Israel (n = 196). Path analyses indicated that public stigma demonstrated an indirect effect with intentions to seek group therapy through self-stigma, and self-stigma demonstrated a direct relationship with intentions. The strengths of these paths did not differ based on gender or clinical/non-clinical presentation. Examination of differences in public stigma, self-stigma and intentions based on gender and mental health group (clinical/non-clinical) revealed a significant interaction between mental health group and gender. Clinical males demonstrated greater public stigma, self-stigma and intentions compared with non-clinical males. Clinical women demonstrated reported self-stigma, but there were no differences in public stigma or intentions based on mental health group. Among non-clinical participants, women reported lower public stigma and intentions than men, but there were no gender differences observed among clinical participants. These findings build upon group therapy research that has examined help-seeking stigma in samples of non-Israeli Arabs, samples of predominantly Jewish Israeli participants and/or undergraduate students. Implications for future research are discussed.