Predictive Factors of Help Seeking for Mental Health Support Among Latinx Male College Students

Abstract

The need for mental health services for Latinx communities is growing due to shifting demographics in the United States and increased immigration from Latin America (Provencio Vasquez et al., 2011; Torres & Vallejo, 2015). Unfortunately, Latinx people in the U.S. face disparities in both access to and quality of mental health treatment (Davis & Liang, 2015; Provencio Vasquez et al., 2011). These disparities are due to structural barriers, including systemic racism and varying levels of immigration status (Goodman & Gorski, 2015; Marquez Kiyama et al., 2015; Martinez Tyson et al., 2016). The aim of the present study was to gather data about Latinx male college students’ help seeking attitudes and intentions at a large predominantly white institution (PWIs) in the United States. Another aim was to examine Latinx male college students’ preference for culturally competent mental health counseling from a critical race theory (CRT) framework. Because cultures and sociocultural identities are diverse and continuously evolving, striving toward culturally responsive practices and services must also evolve (Asumah & Nagel, 2014). With the growing population of Latinx college students, the college environment is an important environment to explore the relationship between Latinx college students and mental health supports (Hope et al., 2018). In this study, an online survey examined the relationship between the predictor variables—mental health symptoms, stigma toward help seeking for mental health support (attitudes and self-stigma), masculinity ideologies (restrictive emotionality, machismo, and caballerismo), and importance of applying culturally relevant support services (using critical race theory) in mental help supports—and the criterion variable—intention of young adult Latinx male college students to seek help for mental health support. Results of the hierarchical regression conducted with SPSS revealed that attitudes toward mental health support (as measured by the Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help-Short Form or ATSPPH-SF) had predictive power for the intent to seek help among Latinx male college students (B = .880, p = .019). Specifically, higher scores on the ATSPPH-SF were associated with greater intent to seek help for emotional problems and suicidal ideation. No other variables in the full regression model had predictive power for the intent to seek help (p > .05). The results of the present study have several implications for universities and colleges. Mental health and wellness are growing concerns for Latinx college students, and college mental health professionals need to be prepared to address these concerns (Hope et al., 2018). As such, the results of the present study can be used by mental health professionals and administrations to better understand the help seeking behaviors of Latinx male college students at their universities. Attitudes toward mental health was found to be a significant predictor of help seeking intention among the sample of Latinx male college students. As such, college mental health professionals and administrators may endeavor to create marketing materials, workshops, and sessions that address and improve attitudes toward mental health and help seeking for mental health concerns.