247927 Stress, Coping, & Oppression - Prevention & Education (SCOPE) Project: The utilization of counseling services among black female college students

Wednesday, November 2, 2011: 9:30 AM

Michelle S. Williams, MPH, CHES , Health Behavior, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL
Jelani C. Kerr, PhD , Centre for Research on Inner City Health, Saint Michael's Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada
Larrell Wilkinson, MSPH , Institute for Partnerships to Eliminate Health Disparities, University of South Carolina - Arnold School of Public Health, Columbia, SC
Muhammad Salaam , Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC
Jametta Magwood, MPH , Institute for Partnerships to Eliminate Health Disparities, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC
Minnjuan Flournoy, PhD (c) , Institute for Partnerships to Eliminate Health Disparities, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC
Edith M. Williams, PhD, MS , Institute for Partnerships to Eliminate Health Disparities, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC
Saundra Glover, MBA, PhD , Institute for Partnerships to Eliminate Health Disparities, University of South Carolina - Arnold School of Public Health, Columbia, SC
     
Black women experience some of the highest levels of psychological distress, but have the lowest rates of mental health treatment. Graduate students often experience distress that can negatively affect their academic success and increase risk of depression. Consequently, without adequate treatment, Black female graduate (BFG) students may have an increased risk of mental health problems.

Graduate students at a predominately white institution completed surveys pertaining to their experiences of psychological distress, discrimination, and the utilization of campus resources for help when emotional problems or academic conflicts occurred. Simple linear regressions were performed to examine differences in discrimination, psychological distress, comfort using campus-based mental health services, and knowledge regarding resources to address academic conflicts by race and classification (undergraduate vs. graduate). There were 486 female students that completed the survey.

BFG students reported significantly more day-to-day experiences of discrimination than White female graduate (WFG) students (p <0.0001) and Black female undergraduates (BFU; p <0.0001). BFG reported more lifetime experiences with discrimination than BFU (p<0.0001) and WFG (p<0.0001). BFG reported greater psychological distress than WFG (p <0.02). BFG were less comfortable seeking mental health service than BFU(p<0.05). Knowledge of resources to resolve academic conflict was lower for BFG compared to BFU (p <0.05).

Although BFG have significantly more experiences of discrimination and greater psychological distress than WFG and BFU, they are less likely to access mental health services. These findings suggest that experiences of discrimination increase as Black females mature and that targeted interventions to increase mental health utilization for BFG.

Learning Areas:
Diversity and culture
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
1) Describe the relationship between psychological distress, discrimination, and mental health service use among African American college students. 2) Identify differences in perceptions of mental health service use between African American female graduate students and African American female undergraduate students. 3) Identify differences in perceptions of mental health service use between African American female graduate students and White female undergraduate students.

Keywords: Women's Health, Mental Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I designed the study and have been actively involved in the research.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

See more of: Prevalence and correlates of mental health needs and service use among African Americans
See more of: Mental Health