Therapy Fears and Help-Seeking Behaviors among Mothers: Examining Racial Differences in Mental Health Services
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Therapy Fears and Help‑Seeking Behaviors among Mothers: Examining Racial Differences in Mental Health Services Erlanger A. Turner1 · Corina Plitt2 · Yadira Gamez2 · Christopher Godfrey2 Received: 5 July 2019 / Accepted: 12 September 2020 © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract In the United States, approximately 20% of children and adolescents meet diagnostic criteria for a mentalhealth diagnosis, but few receive treatment. The purpose of the current study was to explore the factors thatcontribute to help-seeking among mothers from diverse ethnic groups (52.5% European American/White, 23%African American/Black, and 24.6% Latinx). Participants were 122 mothers recruited from 2014 to 2017 through aconvenience sample in Central Texas. Using MANOVA, results indicated that mother with no history of therapy usereported more fears about seeking therapy for children. Additionally, there was a trend towards African Americanmothers reporting more fears about therapists’ responsiveness and image concerns. Finally, therapy fearssignificantly predicted mother’s intentions to delay seeking therapy in the future. Implications for research andpractice are discussed. Keywords Child mental health · Behavioral health · Parental help-seeking · Psychotherapy · Mental healthdisparities · Ethnic differences
Introduction In the United States, approximately 20 percent of children and adolescents meet diagnostic criteria for a mental health diagnosis Turner et al. (Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology 21:613–618, 2015). Recent data indicates that the most common disorders during childhood are behavior problems, anxiety, and depression (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; CDC, as reported by CDC (Children’s mental health, https://www.cdc.gov/childrensm entalhealth/data.html, 2019). Additionally, many of these disorders often co-occur. For example, among children ages 3–17 years old with a behavior problem, 36% are also diagnosed with anxiety and 20% with depression CDC, as reported by CDC (Children’s mental health, https://www. cdc.gov/childrensmentalhealth/data.html, 2019). Regardless of the diagnosis, rates of treatment seeking are limited. Turner (Community Mental Health Journal 54:930–934, * Erlanger A. Turner [email protected] 1
Graduate School of Education and Psychology, Pepperdine University, 6100 Center Drive, 5th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90045, USA
University of Houston-Downtown, Houston, Texas, USA
2
2018) notes that less than half of children that experience psychological distress receive appropriate access to mental health services. Among children from diverse racial and ethnic groups, rates of treatment use are significantly less CDC, as reported by CDC (Children’s mental health, https: // www.cdc.gov/childrensmentalhealth/data.html, 2019). Barriers to treatment seeking for families from diverse groups may include demographic variables including gender, education, and socioeconomic status CDC, as reported by CDC (
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