Racial/ethnic differences in mental health help-seeking behavior among adolescents

Research in adolescents' mental health (MH) help-seeking behavior has shown racial/ethnic differences, particularly among black and Hispanic adolescents. Barriers to MH help-seeking among minority groups include less access to care, lower quality treatment, lack of knowledge about MH symptoms, MH stigma, and influence of parental beliefs about mental illness etiology. Using the Stigma Context for Youth Study, we examined racial/ethnic differences in help-seeking behavior and the impact of a novel school-based intervention in inducing help-seeking behavior. A diverse sample of 721 sixth graders from 14 schools comprised this unique study, which took place from September 2011 to December 2012 in Texas. Schools were randomly assigned an intervention designed to improve MH attitudes and behaviors among adolescents. To measure help-seeking behaviors, we implemented a pre/post survey with (1) vignette-based questions asking whether a subject should adopt a variety of help-seeking strategies, such as talking to friends, parents, a doctor, religious leader, school counselor, other therapist or counselor and taking medication; and (2) direct questions asking whether participants would engage in these behaviors if they were having a MH problem. At baseline, African-Americans sought help more often compared to Whites and Latinos, and African-Americans and Latinos were more willing to help a friend compared to Whites (p<0.01). At post test, African-Americans compared to White and Latinos were more willing to seek help, but less likely to seek medical help or suggest help for a vignette subject (p<0.05). Future analyses will utilize caregiver data, acculturation, and socioeconomic status to understand these initial findings.