The Relation Between Internalized Stigmatization and Depression Among Adolescents With Substance Use: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background: Stigmatization is a significant impediment to treatment and substance use disorders are associated with marked internalized and social stigma. This stigma can lower self-esteem, increase social withdrawal, and worsen depressive symptoms. The relationship between depression and internalized stigma among adolescents has not yet been investigated in any research. Methods: This study aimed to examine the relationship between internalized stigma and depression in a group of adolescents diagnosed with substance use disorder. The study was conducted between December 2023 and March 2024 with 71 adolescents and followed at the outpatient clinic of the university hospital in a city located in the southeastern part of Turkey. The Sociodemographic Form, Internalized Stigma of Mental Disorders Scale-Adolescent Form (ISMI-AF), and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) were used for data collection. Results: The mean age of the adolescents was 15.97 years (SD: 1.51); 85.9 % were male, and 90.1 % had severe depressive symptoms. No significant relationship was found between the total scores of the ISMI-AF and the BDI; however, the adolescent’s educational status and family history of mental disorders were statistically significant determinants of the ISMI-AF ( R 2 = 0.24). Sexual abuse, parental cohabitation, and self-harm or suicide behaviors explained 43% of the BDI scores. Conclusion: Almost all the adolescents who participated in this study were found to have severe depressive symptoms. In addition to adolescents’ school life and family psychiatric history, which were important variables explaining internalized stigma, sexual abuse, parental cohabitation, and self-harm or suicide behaviors were predictors of depression among the adolescents.