International Journal of Education and Human Developments (IJEHD)

Research in counseling and higher education recognizes the importance of mental health stigma of university students. However, assessing the attitudes and beliefs toward university students' mental health stigma further requires a rigorous instrument to measure such issues. Therefore, this study developed and tested a theory-based measurement of the University Student Mental Health Stigma Survey (USMHSS). The present study included 810 participants, of which, 606 completed the survey from more than 30 university majors from five geographic areas of China. The results of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) found a second-order measurement model and supported the theoretical structure of the mental health stigma model as it applied to this instrument. With the findings from this study, we suggested the modification to the USMHSS. Implications for research and practice and directions for future study are also discussed.