Assessing perceptions of stigmatization by others for seeking help in China: psychometric characteristics and measurement invariance across gender and therapy experience.

The stigma of social networks may be more noticeable in collectivist societies like China, but research in this area has largely been overlooked due to a lack of reliable measurement. To address this gap, this study tested the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Perceptions of Stigmatization by Others for Seeking Help (PSOSH) scale in the Chinese general population, and tested its invariance across gender and prior therapy experience. In a national online survey, 640 adults completed the PSOSH and conceptually related scales: Self-stigma of Seeking Help (SSOSH), Stigma of Seeking Professional Psychological Help Scale (SSPPH, i.