Abstract
This study examined the associations between race, ethnicity, help-seeking behavior and perceptions of mental health treatment among college students with depression. This cross-sectional study included pooled data from the Fall 2018 and Spring 2019 semesters for n = 654 students from one large, public university. Baseline surveys were administered to undergraduate students at the beginning of each semester. Findings indicated that Asian students with depression have a 77% increased odds (aOR = 1.77, 95% CI: (1.17, 2.68), p value = 0.007) of seeking help compared to White students with depression. Asian students with depression have two times the odds of regretting not seeking help compared to White students (aOR = 2.00, 95% CI: (1.05, 3.89), p value = 0.03) while Hispanic students with depression have 1.72 times the odds of regretting not seeking help compared to White students (aOR = 1.72, 95% CI: (0.94, 3.16), p value = 0.079). Asian race modified the effect of general anxiety on help-seeking behavior, reducing the odds of help-seeking by 53% (interaction OR: 0.47 (95% CI: (0.20, 1.10), p value = 0.08). Findings show that the psychosocial landscape of Asian minorities among students with depression is changing; future research should focus on these shifting attitudes to encourage help-seeking behavior and tailor treatment.
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Data Availability
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, PT, upon reasonable request.
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Priya Thomas and Santiago Papini. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Priya Thomas, and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Thomas, P.B., Hoelscher, D.M., Ranjit, N. et al. Race and Ethnicity, Help-Seeking Behavior, and Perceptions of Mental Health Treatment Among College Students with Depression. Innov High Educ (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10755-024-09718-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10755-024-09718-4