A cross-temporal comparison of depression stigma among college students: Gen X versus Gen Z

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine whether undergraduate students today (i.e., Gen Z; born: 1997–2012), exhibited the same level of mental health related stigma when compared with college students, studied approximately two decades ago (i.e., Gen X [born 1965–1980]). Participants: 379 undergraduate students from a private midwestern university participated in the experiment. Method: Participants were randomly assigned to read one of four vignettes about a fictitious student, “Tom” who either (a) was depressed and sought treatment, (b) was depressed and did not seek treatment, (c) suffered a back injury and sought treatment, or (d) suffered a back injury and did not seek treatment. Participants then rated “Tom” on the Impression Formation Scale, a 32-item, 5-point Likert Scale, designed to assess negative impression formation. The current study repeated the procedures (i.e., instructions, measures, and scoring) used by Ben-Porath (2002) in a study of Gen X students. Results: Findings indicated that Gen Z holds less stigmatizing attitudes toward a target described as depressed as well as a target that sought help for depression as compared to Gen X participants sampled over 20 years prior. Conclusions: The current generation, Gen Z, demonstrated less stigmatizing attitudes toward a target described as depressed and greater acceptance of seeking help for that concern than earlier generations.