Date of Award

8-16-2024

Document Type

Open Access Dissertation

Department

Educational Studies

First Advisor

Jonathan Ohrt

Abstract

Amidst rapid diversification of higher education student bodies, discrepancies in help-seeking relative to endorsed psychological distress have been noted among college students of color. The treatment utilization disparity exhibited by minoritized racial and ethnic groups attending college necessitates analysis of factors that impact help-seeking. Colleges have increasingly implemented multi-systemic interventions to address rising mental illness prevalence rates across college student demographics. Addressing treatment use disparities and implementing culturally competent services are foci of updated college mental health models. Empowering help-seeking is vital to promoting campus community health. Saint Arnault’s (2009) cultural determinants of help-seeking model (CDHS) posits the interplay of culturally bound attitudinal and structural factors that shape the perceived need that precedes help-seeking. The purpose of this dissertation is to (a) assess drivers of therapy use disparities among college students of color, (b) explore between-group differences in self-stigma of seeking help, and (c) identify campus mental health initiatives that promote treatment seeking. Three research questions were explored across two studies exploring the factors predictive of therapy use among college students of color and the impact of campus mental health initiatives on SSOSH: (a) multiple logistic regression was conducted to understand cultural determinants of help-seeking that predict changes in likelihood to attend therapy, (b) ANOVA to assess between group differences in self-stigma of seeking help, and (c) a multiple linear regression assessing the relationship between campus-based mental health initiatives and changes in self-stigma of seeking help. Overall, the findings suggest that self-stigma of seeking help is a significant driver of the disparity in therapy use among students of color and campus mental health initiatives can contribute to reductions in this factor.

Rights

© 2024, Rawle David Sookwah Ragoonath

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