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Examining Help-Seeking Intentions of African American College Students Diagnosed with Depression

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Abstract

A depressed African American emerging adult’s intention to seek help can be affected by the severity of their mental health or perception of self-flourishing, or positive mental health. Using the Healthy Minds Study, a nationally representative dataset, utilization of mental health services among African American emerging adult students who have been diagnosed with depression by a health professional (n = 201), and the mediating effect of positive mental health on help-seeking intentions were examined. The findings revealed that 89.45% of students reported help-seeking intentions, and they may have one or more than one way of seeking help from a professional clinician, roommate or friend, or significant. The findings show that there are specific groups of people that African Americans prefer to engage with when addressing their mental health. It is critical that we consider these groups when developing interventions or programs for their service access on college campuses and beyond.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Public Health Sciences, Penn State College of Medicine, 700 HMC Crescent Rd, Hershey, PA, 17033, USA

    Amelia Ubesie, Li Wang, Elana Farace & Yendelela Cuffee

  2. Food and Drug Administration, 10903 New Hampshire Ave, Silver Spring, MD, 20993, USA

    Cong Wang

  3. Department of Psychology, Penn State University, 140 Moore Building, University Park, PA, 16801, USA

    Kisha Jones

Authors
  1. Amelia Ubesie
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  2. Cong Wang
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  3. Li Wang
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  4. Elana Farace
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  5. Kisha Jones
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  6. Yendelela Cuffee
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Correspondence to Amelia Ubesie.

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The Penn State College of Medicine Human Subjects Protection Office determined that the proposed activity of this study did not require formal IRB review because the research met the criteria for exempt research according to the institutional policies and provisions of applicable federal regulations.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. The opinions and information in this article are those of the authors and do not represent the views and/or policies of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

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Ubesie, A., Wang, C., Wang, L. et al. Examining Help-Seeking Intentions of African American College Students Diagnosed with Depression. J. Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities 8, 475–484 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-020-00804-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-020-00804-9

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