A Latent Class Analysis of Mental Health Help-Seeking Patterns Among African Americans

Background & Purpose: Although the prevalence rates of mental health disorders are generally lower for African Americans relative to Whites, African Americans have poorer mental health outcomes and prognosis. One contributor to racial disparities in mental health outcomes includes the help-seeking behavior among African Americans. The literature suggests that African Americans prefer informal sources of support like family, friends, and clergy and have low rates of professional service use. However little is known about the heterogeneity of support sources utilized or the ways African Americans seek out multiple sources of support for help with mental problems. Here it is hypothesized that African Americans with mental disorders engage in distinct patterns of help seeking behavior.

Methods: This study employed latent class analysis using data from the National Survey of American Life (2004) to identify distinct patterns of help-seeking behavior among African Americans with mood and/or anxiety disorders (n=833). Seeking support from psychiatrist, other mental health professional, family doctor, other medical doctor, family and friends, and clergy were included in the model.

Results: The latent class analysis identified a four class solution. Based on the Likelihood Ratio, degrees of freedom, Akaike’s Information Criterion, Bayesian Information Criterion, and careful inspection of the parameter estimates the four class model was selected. Conditional probabilities were examined and provided the basis for interpreting and labeling the four latent classes. Class 1 (Family Doctor Users) comprised 23.5% of the sample, class 2 (All Support Source Users) was 14.6% of the sample, Class 3 (Formal Mental Health Professionals Users) comprised 23.2% of the sample, and Class 4 (Formal & Informal Support Users) was 38.7% of the sample.

Conclusions & Implications: These results reveal distinct mental health help-seeking patterns among African Americans. The distinct patters for support use identified here highlights the heterogeneity of help-seeking behavior among African Americans. Results will results will aid in the development of mental health promotion efforts that target African Americans as a means to reduce racial disparities in mental health outcomes. Also results suggest important opportunities for collaboration and partnership between mental health professionals, clergy, and family and friends. More training and mental health resources may be needed in primary care settings.