The role of military culture: Military values and perceived stigma as predictors of psychological help-seeking propensity

Despite the relatively high availability of free or low-cost psychological care many service members and veterans choose not to seek services (Vogt et al., 2014). This paper aimed to investigate whether military culture moderates the relationship between stigma and help-seeking intentions among service members. Prior work has suggested that service member underutilization of services may be the result of military culture and its emphasis on placing the mission above personal needs but this finding has not been clearly demonstrated in the literature. The findings of this study revealed that high commitment to military values coupled with heightened perceptions of stigma may play an important role in a service member’s decision to seek out psychological treatment. These results lend support to the effects of commitment to core military values and perceived stigma on psychological help-seeking intentions and demonstrate the need to consider these factors when tailoring psychological interventions for military personnel.