Abstract

The present study was an attempt to better understand the tendency to stigmatize help-seeking among Koreans. Specific research questions investigated in this study were 1) Is there a relationship between individualism-collectivism and tolerance of stigma associated with help-seeking among koreans? 2) is there a difference in tolerance of stigma associated with help-seeking after counseling experience? and 3) Is there a difference in tolerance of stigma associated with help-seeking between a community sample and a college student sample in Korea? Research participants were 192 community residents and 151 college students. Tolerance of stigma associated with help-seeking was measured by a "Stigma" subscale of the Attitudes Toward Professional Psychological Help Scale (ATTPPHS: Fisher and Turner, 1970). Individualism-collectivism was measured by the scale of Individualism-Collectivism (Singellis and Triandis, et al 1995). Results indicated that the higher level of vertical individualism people show, the less tolerant they are of the stigma associated with seeking psychological help. It was also found that people who had a previous counseling experience were shown to be significantly more tolerant of the stigma associated with seeking psychological help than people who did not have a counseling experience. There was no significant difference in the degree of tolerance of stigma associated with psychological help between two samples.