TY - UNPD A1 - Roth, Christopher A1 - Schwardmann, Peter A1 - Tripodi, Egon T1 - Depression Stigma N2 - Throughout history, people with mental illness have been discriminated against and stigmatized. Our experiment provides a new measure of perceived depression stigma and then investigates the causal effect of perceived stigma on help-seeking in a sample of 1,844 Americans suffering from depression. A large majority of our participants overestimate the extent of stigma associated with depression. In contrast to prior correlational evidence, lowering perceived social stigma through an information intervention leads to a reduction in the demand for psychotherapy. A mechanism experiment reveals that this information increases optimism about future mental health, thereby reducing the perceived need for therapy. Y1 - 2024 UR - https://opus4.kobv.de/opus4-hsog/frontdoor/index/index/docId/5420 U6 - https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4772585 ET - CESifo Working Paper No. 11012 ER -