Honors College Thesis
 

Disparities in Mental Health Status, Beliefs, Treatment, and Help-Seeking with Depression for Students of Color in College

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https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/honors_college_theses/kw52jh21s

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  • Mental health issues such as depression are increasingly prevalent in college students. However, research on disparities in mental health problems in students of color in college has been limited. In the present study, we used the Healthy Minds Study (HMS) data collected on mental health of college students from 2018-2019 through a survey. HMS randomly selected students and used propensity weights for each student so that they were representative of the full student population at 79 participating institutions. We evaluated differences in rates of mental health status, stigma-related beliefs, treatment, help-seeking, and barriers for students of color (African-American, Latinx, Asian/Asian-American, Multiracial, and Other) in comparison to White (non-Latinx) students. We hypothesized that students of color would have similar depression rates to white students, but lower rates of diagnosis and treatment, and increased rates of stigma (perceived and personal), and barriers for treatment. Also, informal help-seeking outlets for students of color would be at lower rates than White (non-Latinx) students. We found that students of color, generally, were more likely to have depression, significant academic impairment, increased levels of stigma, and more barriers. In addition, students of color had lower rates of diagnosis, treatment (i.e., therapy and medication), perceived need, and informal help-seeking. In particular, our results suggest interventions should be targeted to African-American and Asian/Asian-American students because of their low treatment rates, increased barriers, and stigma. Further research into these disparities in mental health will help address these problems for students of color in college.
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