TY - RPRT 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 U6 - https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4772585 ET - CESifo Working Paper No. 11012 ER - TY - RPRT A1 - Roth, Christopher A1 - Schwardmann, Peter A1 - Tripodi, Egon T1 - Misperceived Effectiveness and the Demand for Psychotherapy T2 - Berlin School of Economics Discussion Papers N2 - While psychotherapy has been shown to be effective in treating depression, take-up remains low. In a sample of 1,843 depressed individuals, we document that effectiveness concerns are top-of-mind when respondents consider the value of therapy. We then show that the average respondent underestimates the effectiveness of therapy and that an information treatment correcting this misperception increases participants’ incentivized willingness to pay for therapy. Information affects therapy demand by changing beliefs rather than by shifting attention. Our results suggest that information interventions that target the perceived effectiveness of therapy are a potent tool in combating the ongoing mental health crisis. T3 - Berlin School of Economics Discussion Papers - 36 Y1 - 2024 UR - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:b1570-opus4-53621 ET - No. 36 ER -