Examining Perceptions about Mental Health Care and Help-Seeking among Rural African American Families of Adolescents

Autor/inn/en	Murry, Velma McBride; Heflinger, Craig Anne; Suiter, Sarah V.; Brody, Gene H.
Titel	Examining Perceptions about Mental Health Care and Help-Seeking among Rural African American Families of Adolescents
Quelle	In: Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 40 (2011) 9, S.1118-1131 (14 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0047-2891
DOI	10.1007/s10964-010-9627-1
Schlagwörter	Health Services; African American Children; Mothers; Mental Health Programs; Adolescents; Rural Areas; Community Resources; Help Seeking; African Americans; Incidence; Access to Health Care; Interviews; Statistical Analysis; Qualitative Research + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Health service; Gesundheitsdienst; Gesundheitswesen; African Americans; Child; Children; Afroamerikaner; Kind; Kinder; Mother; Mutter; Adolescent; Adolescence; Adoleszenz; Jugend; Jugendalter; Jugendlicher; Rural area; Ländlicher Raum; Help-seeking behavior; Help-seeking behaviour; Hilfe suchendes Verhalten; Vorkommen; Interviewing; Interviewtechnik; Statistische Analyse; Qualitative Forschung
Abstract	Rural African American children living in poverty have a higher prevalence rate of mental health disorders than their urban counterparts. While access to mental health services is lacking in resource scarce rural communities, African American rural residents may also be the most likely to confront significant barriers to care and help-seeking. Studies of mental health help-seeking behavior among rural families are rare, even rarer are studies of African Americans living in these areas. To address this gap, the current study examined perceptions about help-seeking for adolescents with mental health problems among rural African American families. Data were obtained from African American mothers in rural Georgia to assess their perceptions of the mental health service system, help-seeking processes, and service experiences. A mixed-method approach was implemented, integrating a quantitative survey (n = 163) with qualitative interviews (subsample n = 21). Most of the mothers expressed confidence in mental health care providers' to help. Preferred sources of support, however, were family, church, and schools. Community stigma towards children with mental health problems and their families was a frequently endorsed perceived barrier to help-seeking. Although cultural mistrust was one of the two most frequently endorsed barriers in the survey, it did not emerge as a universal barrier to help-seeking for the mothers in this sample. Implications for research, policy, and practice include addressing family concerns about stigma, preferences for informal support and non-specialty services in addressing adolescents' mental health problems, and building community resources to enable all youth to participate in community life. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10