Mental Health Matters: From Data to Difference

Background and Purpose: Evidence indicates that people of color underutilize mental health services, but little is known empirically about the help-seeking behaviors of African American emerging adults, which limits the impact of health professionals within communities and specifically on American college campuses. The purpose of this study was to use a mixed method design to better understand the underutilization of professional mental health services among college attending emerging adults.

Primary objectives of this research are as follows:

Through quantitative methods, this study determined if minority status, age, gender and school affiliation are predictive of individual willingness to seek help and help-seeking behavior for mental health needs among African American emerging adults between the ages of 18 and 29. Through qualitative methods, this study examined sources of support as well as factors that cause mental distress, discourage and encourage formal help-seeking among college attending African American emerging adults.

Research questions are as follows:

Research Question 1 & 2. Are minority status, age, gender and school affiliation predictive factors for willingness to seek help and help-seeking behaviors among African American emerging adults between the ages of 18 and 29?

Research Question 3. What causes African American emerging adults to experience mental distress?

Research Question 4 & 5. What factors encourage and discourage African American emerging adults formal help-seeking?

Research Question 6. What sources of support do African American emerging adults rely on following an experience of mental distress?

Methods: This mixed-method study utilized a concurrent design with nested samples to examine willingness to seek help and help-seeking intentions among college students from four universities. The quantitative component utilized a cluster sampling scheme and the qualitative component utilized a criterion sampling scheme involving participants representing one or more criteria, identifying as African American emerging adults who showed evidence of prior mental health service utilization. As reported, recruited participants consisted of college attending emerging adults ranging between the ages of 18 and 29 and participants completed the Willingness to Seek Help Questionnaire and the General Help Seeking Questionnaire (n=120; M age=24 years; range= 18-29 years). Concurrently, African American emerging adult participants (n=6) who have sought professional mental health treatment within the past 12 months completed in-depth interviews. For the quantitative analysis, a linear regression model was applied and for the qualitative analysis a thematic analysis was completed.

Results: Minority emerging adults reported lower willingness to seek formal psychological help and lower formal help-seeking intention for suicidal or emotional problems. Correlational analysis showed that Race and Age are predictive of Willingness To Seek Help, and Age, Gender, and School Affiliation are predictive of General Help-Seeking. A thematic analysis showed constructs that influence the formal help-seeking experience such as perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, self-efficacy, perceived benefit, perceived barriers, cues to action, and social support.

Conclusions and Implications: Policy and practice implications include improving public health policies, increasing access to formal mental health treatment, and promoting the use of non-traditional formal support, such as teletherapy on college campuses and at community mental health centers.