Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Psychocultural Correlates of Mental Health Service Utilization Among African American and European American Girls

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Structural equation modeling was used to examine the effects of cultural factors (ethnic identity, perceived discrimination), family relations, and child problem type on mental health service utilization in a community sample of 1,480 adolescent girls (860 African American, 620 European American) between ages 15 and 17 years enrolled in the Pittsburgh Girls Study. Results revealed ethnic identity, caregiver attachment, and conduct disorder were related to service use among African American girls. Among European American girls, correlate patterns differed by clinical need. Findings highlight the need for research on health disparities to examine racially specific influences on service utilization.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Bauman, K. E., Ennett, S. T., Foshee, V. A., Pemberton, M., & Hicks, K. (2001). Correlates of participation in a family-directed tobacco and alcohol prevention program for adolescents. Health Education and Behavior, 28, 440–461.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Beauboeuf-Lafontant, T. (2005). Keeping up appearances, getting fed up: The embodiment of strength among African American women. Meridians: Feminism, Race, Transnationalism, 5, 104–123.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brauner, C., & Stephens, C. B. (2006). Estimating the prevalence of early childhood emotional/behavioral disorders: Issues and challenges. Public Health Reports, 121(3), 303–310.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, T. (2006). Confirmatory factor analysis for applied research. New York: Guildford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Casagrande, S. S., Gary, T. L., LaVeist, T. A., Gaskin, D. J., & Cooper, L. A. (2007). Perceived discrimination and adherence to medical care in a racially integrated community. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 22, 389–395.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chabra, A., Chavez, G. F., Harris, E. S., & Shah, R. (1999). Hospitalization for mental illness in adolescents: Risk groups and impact on the health care system. Journal of Adolescent Health, 24, 349–356.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chang, J., Natsuaki, M. N., & Chen, C. (2013). The importance of family factors and generation status: Mental health service use among Latino and Asian Americans. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 19, 236–247.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, H. L., Kwan, K. K. L., & Sevig, T. (2013). Racial and ethnic minority college students’ stigma associated with seeking psychological help: Examining psychocultural correlates. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 60, 98–111.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, J., Cohen, P., West, S. G., & Aiken, L. S. (2003). Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences (3rd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Coker, T. R., Elliot, M. N., Kataoka, S. H., Schwebel, D. C., Mrug, S., Grunbaum, J., et al. (2009). Racial/ethnic disparities in the mental health care utilization of 5th-grade children. Academic Pediatrics, 9, 89–96.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cummings, J. R., & Druss, B. G. (2011). Racial/ethnic differences in mental health service use among adolescents with major depression. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 50, 160–170.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Flora, D. B., & Curran, P. J. (2004). An empirical evaluation of alternative methods of estimation for confirmatory factor analysis with ordinal data. Psychological Methods, 9, 466–491.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gadow, K., & Sprafkin, J. (1994/1997). Child/adolescent symptom inventories manual. Stony Brook, NY: Checkmate Plus.

  • Garland, A. F., Landsverk, J. L., Hough, R. L., & Ellis-MacLeod, E. (1996). Type of maltreatment as a predictor of mental health service use for children in foster care. Child Abuse and Neglect, 20, 675–688.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Garland, A. F., Lau, A. S., Yeh, M., McCabe, K. M., Hough, R. L., & Landsverk, J. A. (2005). Racial and ethnic differences in utilization of mental health services among high-risk youths. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 162, 1336–1343.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gorman-Smith, D., Tolan, P. H., Henry, D. B., Leventhal, A., Schoeny, M., Lutovsky, K., & Quintana, E. (2002). Predictors of participation in a family-focused preventive intervention for substance use. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 16, S55–S64.

  • Gudiño, O. G., Lau, A. S., McCabe, K. M., & Hough, R. L. (2009). Understanding racial/ethnic disparities in youth mental health services: Do disparities vary by problem type? Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 17, 3–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gullone, E., & Robinson, K. (2005). The inventory of parent and peer attachment-revised (IPPA-R) for children: A psychometric investigation. Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, 12, 67–79.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harpaz-Rotem, I., Leslie, D., & Rosenheck, R. A. (2004). Treatment retention among children entering a new episode of mental health care. Psychiatric Services, 55, 1022–1028.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Herz, D. C. (2001). Understanding the use of mental health placements by the juvenile justice system. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 9, 172–181.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hipwell, A. E., Loeber, R., Stouthamer-Loeber, M., Keenan, K., White, H., & Kroneman, L. (2002). Characteristics of girls with early onset disruptive and antisocial behaviour. Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health, 12, 99–118.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Horwitz, S. M., Gary, L. C., Briggs-Gowan, M. J., & Carter, A. S. (2003). Do needs drive services use in young children? Pediatrics, 112, 1373–1378.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kataoka, S., Zhang, L., & Wells, K. B. (2002). Unmet need for mental health care among U.S. children: Variation by ethnicity and public assistance status. American Journal of Psychiatry, 159(9), 1548–1555.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Keenan, K., Hipwell, A., Chung, T., Stepp, S., Stouthamer-Loeber, M., Loeber, R., et al. (2010). The Pittsburgh Girls Study: Overview and initial findings. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 39, 506–521.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lamkaddem, M., Essink-Bot, M. L., Deville, W., Foets, M., & Stronks, K. (2011). Perceived discrimination outside health care settings and health care utilization of Turkish and Moroccan GP patients in the Netherlands. European Journal of Public Health, 22, 472–478.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leslie, L. K., Hurlburt, M. S., James, S., Landsverk, J., Slymen, D. J., & Zhang, J. (2005). Relationship between entry into and mental health service use. Psychiatric Services, 56, 981–987.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Leslie, L. K., Landsverk, J., Ezzet-Loftstrom, R., Tschann, J. M., Slymen, D. J., & Garland, A. F. (2000). Children in foster care: Factors influencing outpatient mental health service use. Child Abuse and Neglect, 24, 465–476.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lochman, J. E., & Salekin, R. T. (2003). Prevention and intervention with aggressive and disruptive children: Next steps in behavioral intervention research. Behavior Therapy, 34, 413–419.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Longshore, D. (1999). Help-seeking by African American drug users: A prospective analysis. Addictive Behaviors, 24, 683–686.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Martinez, J. I., Gudino, O. G., & Lau, A. S. (2013). Problem-specific racial/ethnic disparities in pathways from maltreatment exposure to specialty mental health service use for youth in child welfare. Child Maltreatment, 18, 98–107.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Matthews, A. K., Corrigan, P. W., Smith, B. M., & Aranda, F. (2006). A qualitative exploration of African Americans’ attitudes toward mental illness and mental illness treatment seeking. Rehabilitation Education, 20, 253–268.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Merikangas, K. R., Jin, R., He, J. P., Kessler, R. C., Lee, S., Sampson, N. A., et al. (2011). Prevalence and correlates of bipolar spectrum disorder in the World Mental Health Survey Initiative. Archives of General Psychiatry, 68, 241–251.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, L. M., Southam-Gerow, M. A., & Allin, R. B. (2008). Who stays in treatment? Child and family predictors of youth client retention in a public mental health agency. Child & Youth Care Forum, 37, 153–170.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moffitt, T. E., Caspi, A., Harrington, H., & Milne, B. J. (2002). Males on the life-course-persistent and adolescence-limited antisocial pathways: Follow-up at age 26 years. Development and Psychopathology, 14, 179–207.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Muthén, B. and Asparouhov, T. (2002). Latent variable analysis with categorical outcomes: Multiple-group and growth modeling in Mplus. [Version 5], December 9, 2002.

  • Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. O. (2011). Mplus user’s guide. Los Angeles, CA: Muthen & Muthen.

  • Nyborg, V. M., & Curry, J. F. (2003). The impact of perceived racism: Psychological symptoms among African American boys. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 32, 258–266.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perrino, T., Coatsworth, J. D., Briones, E., Pantin, H., & Szapocznik, J. (2001). Initial engagement to parent-centered prevention interventions: A family systems perspective. Journal of Primary Prevention, 22, 21–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Phinney, J. (1992). The multigroup ethnic identity measure: A new scale for use with adolescents and youth adults from diverse groups. Journal of Adolescent Research, 7, 156–176.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Richman, L. S., Kohn-Wood, L. P., & Williams, D. R. (2007). The role of discrimination and racial identity for mental health service utilization. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 26, 960–981.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simons, R. L., Murry, V., McLoyd, V., Lin, K., Cutrona, C., & Conger, R. D. (2002). Discrimination, crime, ethnic identity and parenting as correlates of depressive symptoms among African American children: A multilevel analysis. Developmental Psychopathology, 14, 371–393.

  • Thompson-Sanders, V. L., Bazile, A., & Akbar, M. (2004). African Americans’ perceptions of psychotherapy and psychotherapists. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 35, 19–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Verhulst, F. C., & van der Ende, J. (1997). Factors associated with child mental health service use in the community. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 36, 901–909.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, D. R., Yu, Y., Jackson, J., & Anderson, N. (1997). Racial differences in physical and mental health: Socioeconomic status, stress, and discrimination. Journal of Health Psychology, 2, 335–351.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wong, C. A., Eccles, J. S., & Sameroff, A. (2003). The influence of ethnic discrimination and ethnic identification on African American adolescents’ school and socioemotional adjustment. Journal of Personality, 71, 1197–1232.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Yasui, M., Dorham, C. R., & Dishion, T. J. (2004). Ethnic identity and psychological adjustment: A validity analysis for European American and African American adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Research, 19, 807–825.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by Grants from the National Institute of Mental Health (MH056630), the National Institute on Drug Abuse (DA012237), the FISA Foundation, and the Falk Fund. The authors would like to thank the participants and their families for their many contributions to this study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Chicago, Chicago, USA

    Miwa Yasui & Kate Keenan

  2. University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, USA

    Alison E. Hipwell & Stephanie D. Stepp

Authors
  1. Miwa Yasui
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Alison E. Hipwell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Stephanie D. Stepp
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Kate Keenan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Miwa Yasui.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Yasui, M., Hipwell, A.E., Stepp, S.D. et al. Psychocultural Correlates of Mental Health Service Utilization Among African American and European American Girls. Adm Policy Ment Health 42, 756–766 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-014-0610-0

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-014-0610-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation