Mental health is becoming a growing concern in modern society, with lifetime prevalence of mental disorders estimated at around 50% and one-year prevalence reaching 30% (Stuart, 2016). Although the topic is increasingly being addressed around the world, especially in Western cultures, there is still a stigma surrounding it. Although stigma is a familiar concept in the mental health field, the concept is of great complexity and more often than not tends to be oversimplified. In general terms, stigma can be considered as a sign or defect resulting from a personal or physical characteristic considered socially unacceptable (Wimsatt, Schwenk, & Sen, 2015). The term is often used to address negative attitudes, actions and beliefs related to aspects of mental health, but what also needs to be addressed is the social power structure that facilitates this stigma. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayThe stigmatization of mental illness is an increasingly observed phenomenon, which has therefore increased public awareness of the topic and consequently the extent of stigmatization and investigation of this phenomenon. As a result, a spotlight has been put on the topic and it has stimulated the interest of researchers to examine the topic from a scientific and public perspective (Living & Boyd, 2010). Addressing this topic corresponds to an urgent social need as rates of mental illness are constantly increasing and the stigmatization of disorders can have devastating effects both on the individual, especially in terms of recognition and seeking help, and has an impact on society in the its whole. Over 70% of people with mental disorders do not seek help or do so very late due to fear of prejudice and the expectation of being discriminated against (Henderson, Evans-Lacko, & Thornicroft, 2013). Globally, mental health issues are the single most critical issue facing young people today (McGorry, Goldstone, Parker, et al., 2014). Studies indicate that mental disorders are highly prevalent on college campuses (Blanco, Okuda, Wright et al., 2008; Czyz, Horwitz, Eisenberg, Kramer & King, 2013), and over 90% of counseling centers have reported increases substantial in the number of university students with mental health problems in recent years (Gallagher, 2011). Therefore it is essential to address the student population. Early diagnosis and intervention are of utmost importance to influence the trajectory and prevent recurrence of the life course (Birchwood & Singh, 2013). The onset of symptoms marks the beginning of a persistent pattern of mental illness throughout the lifespan and therefore, if left untreated, could impact lifespan in a variety of domains, such as social adjustment, functioning, and economic productivity. It is therefore vitally important to address the problem in general, and particularly among groups with such a high prevalence as seen in the student body. Literature exploring the topic of stigma and mental disorders has generally found that there is a discrepancy between the stigmatization of men and women, even with the same mental illness. It is therefore crucial to examine gender differences in relation to stigmatization, as findings tend to indicate that stigmatizing attitudes are stronger for men with mental disorders than for women. This disparity appears to stem from the “macho” image that men are expected to have within society, which can impact men at an early age. Rice, Purcell and McGorry(2018) found that children tend to disconnect from mental health care as early as adolescence due to a multitude of factors, such as the need to overcome pervasive social attitudes and self-stigma to access available services. Only 13.2% of men aged 16 to 24 who suffer from a mental health problem will access mental health services (Johnston, Browne, et al., 2007), so this population of young men is likely underserved in their mental needs. This research will therefore aim to explore the extent to which stigmatizing attitudes are endorsed and whether these attitudes differ depending on the gender of the mentally ill. The literature review will begin by exploring different definitions of stigma. Because the definition of stigma differs in the literature, it is important to first address these differences in order to understand the variations and understand the specific stigma that will be addressed in this research. Stigmatization of mental disorders will be discussed next, followed by gender stigmatization of mental disorders. Subsequently the article will narrow down to the topics of depression and suicide, as these are the main focus of this research due to their increasingly high prevalence rate and therefore require special attention. Depression is currently the leading disability globally and suicide rates are increasing every year, hence the urgency to investigate this topic more. Possible explanations and factors influencing these stigmatizations will be explored, as well as the effects resulting from stigmatizing attitudes. In the scientific literature, there is substantial variation regarding the definition of stigma. This variability exists because stigma is considered a complex construct that includes negative attitudes and behaviors directed at a particular group (Sheehan et al., 2016b). In research, however, it is recognized that it is a social construct as it refers to a process of social rejection, discrimination and devaluation. Furthermore, it is generally accepted that stigma is present when elements of status loss, labelling, separation, stereotyping and discrimination come together in situations that at least enable, if not tactically support, such elements (Ahmedani, 2011). Goffman (1963) described stigmatized attributes as deeply discrediting to an individual and disqualifying him or her from full social acceptance by society. Thornicroft (2006), however, focused on three social psychological aspects of the problem: attitudes, knowledge and behavior. He defined problems of knowledge as ignorance, problems of (negative) attitudes as prejudice, and problems of (rejecting and avoidant) behavior as discrimination. Regarding the issue of knowledge, Thornicroft argues that stigma arises from a lack of knowledge about a particular group (Thornicroft, Rose, Kassam, & Sartorius, 2007). The concept of negative attitudes (i.e. prejudice) is commonly used to describe social groups that experience disadvantage. Thornicroft and colleagues (2007) state that for the majority to act with prejudice in rejecting a minority group, emotions, such as resentment, hostility, anxiety, and anger, must be present in addition to negative thoughts. Due to the combination of emotions and thoughts that produce biases, Thornicroft et al. (2007) argue that prejudice can, in fact, predict discrimination more significantly than stereotypes. Finally, the behavior problems and rejection of the mentally ill may explain the pattern created in the society in which these individuals continually come.