Barriers to Mental Health Service Use in Asian American and European American College Students

• Published in: Asian American journal of psychology 2020-06, Vol.11 (2), p.98-107
• Main Authors: Gee, Christina B., Khera, Gagan S., Poblete, Alyssa T., Kim, Barunie, Buchwach, Syeda Y.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Asians; College Students; Emotions; Family; Female; Health Care Seeking Behavior; Human; Male; Mental Health; Mental Health Services; Test Construction; Treatment Barriers; White People
• ISSN: 1948-1985; 1948-1993
• DOI: 10.1037/aap0000178

The current study examined barriers and predictors of mental health service use among Asian American (N = 153; 88% U.S. born) and European American (N = 136) college students (Mage = 19.1 years; 69.3% female) who reported experiencing problems related to emotions, nerves, or mental health in the past year. No significant differences were found between European and Asian Americans in the percentage using mental health services; however, Asian American college students reported greater nonculturally specific attitudinal and structural barriers (i.e., "general barriers") to help-seeking (e.g., negative attitudes about mental health, cost, and convenience) as well as culturally relevant barriers (i.e., higher loss of face concern and family stigma toward mental health). Logistic regressions indicated that for European Americans, only general barriers to service use predicted service use; however, for Asian Americans, loss of face concern was a significant predictor of mental health service use when controlling for general barriers. Exploratory analyses for East and South Asians were conducted, and descriptive information for a smaller subsample of Southeast Asians is reported. Implications for future research and mental health treatment within college counseling centers are discussed. What is the public significance of this article? Compared with European Americans, Asian American college students report more general and culturally relevant barriers to service use for mental health problems. For Asian Americans, loss of face concern predicted lower service use. Results suggest that college counseling centers should not only reduce general barriers (e.g., negative attitudes about mental health, convenience) but also attend to culturally relevant barriers (e.g., concerns about "loss of face") when trying to reach Asian Americans.