Nicol, JenniferMousavi, Amin2017-07-142017-07-142017-102017-07-14October 20http://hdl.handle.net/10388/7965Mental health statistics show that Canadian university students have elevated reports of stress, anxiety, depression, attempted and completed suicides. Yet, despite the rising statistics, only a small percentage of these individuals are seeking help for their concerns. This disconnect has been attributed to the barriers, both systemic and personal, experienced when seeking psychological help. One of these barriers, self-stigma, has been correlated with a decreased likelihood of seeking help. Research has found that individuals exhibiting higher levels of perfectionism are more likely to experience self-stigma, making these individuals especially vulnerable to not seeking assistance. However, a recent study (Zeifman et al., 2015) reported that contact with mental illness impacted this relationship in a sample of high school students, which prompted the research question: what are the moderating effects of contact with mental illness on the relationship of perfectionism to self-stigma of seeking psychological help (in a university sample)? A group of university students (N=180) completed an online survey questionnaire comprised of a demographic questionnaire, the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS, Hewitt & Flett, 1990), the Self-Stigma of Seeking Psychological Help scale (SSOSH, Vogel et al., 2006), and a Level of Contact Report (Holmes et al., 1999). Moderation analyses generated several findings. When level of contact with mental illness was low, for both self-oriented and socially prescribed perfectionism, there was no relationship between perfectionism and self-stigma. However, when contact with mental illness reached medium or high levels, there was a significant positive relationship between both types of perfectionism and self-stigma for seeking psychological help. As such, individuals who have a high exposure to mental illness who also exhibit high levels of either self-oriented or socially prescribed perfectionism are the most likely to experience self-stigma, and are therefore the least likely to seek psychological help. These findings are contrary to previous research, and are concerning given the vulnerable position of individuals high in perfectionism to various psychological concerns. Implications of these findings for practice and directions for future research are discussed.application/pdfPerfectionismstigmaself-stigmamental illnesshelp-seekingThesis2017-07-14