1. Mental Health Help-Seeking Among Latina/o/x Undocumented College Students
- Author
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Ayón, Cecilia, Ellis, Basia D, Hagan, Melissa J, Enriquez, Laura E, and Offidani-Bertrand, Carly
- Subjects
Commerce ,Management ,Tourism and Services ,Applied and Developmental Psychology ,Clinical and Health Psychology ,Human Resources and Industrial Relations ,Psychology ,Behavioral and Social Science ,Clinical Research ,Mental Health ,Good Health and Well Being ,Humans ,Female ,Male ,Young Adult ,Hispanic or Latino ,Students ,Universities ,Mental Health Services ,California ,Adult ,Patient Acceptance of Health Care ,Undocumented Immigrants ,Adolescent ,Surveys and Questionnaires ,Help-Seeking Behavior ,Mental Disorders ,immigration mental health ,undocumented populations ,mental health ,and college students ,Cultural Studies ,General Psychology & Cognitive Sciences ,Human resources and industrial relations ,Applied and developmental psychology ,Clinical and health psychology - Abstract
ObjectivesInformed by a social-ecological framework, this study nested undocumented students' individual mental health needs within micro-level campus factors and the macro-level immigration policy context to examine how these are associated with undocumented Latina/o/x college students' use of on-campus mental health services.MethodA large-scale survey was administered to 1,277 undocumented college students attending 4-year public universities in California. Only Latina/o/x respondents were included in this study (N = 1,181). Fifty percent of students attended a UC system (n = 589). On average, students were 21.84 years old (SE = .15), and most were women (75.3%, n = 890).ResultsGreater level of mental health symptoms and perceived mental health need, and greater use of campus-wide resources and undocumented student services predicted greater likelihood of using on-campus mental health services. Greater perceptions of social exclusion due to the immigration policy context predicted lower use of mental health services.ConclusionsResults indicate that a greater use of resources and an inclusive campus environment, as well as efforts to minimize policy-related feelings of social exclusion, may facilitate undocumented students' professional mental health help-seeking. These findings emphasize the need to take multiple and multi-level ecological factors into account when considering mental health service use, particularly in the case of undocumented immigrants and likely other structurally marginalized groups. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
- Published
- 2024