Symposia
Dissemination & Implementation Science
Cyanea Poon, M.A.
Doctoral Candidate in Clinical Psychology
University of Massachusetts Boston
Boston, Massachusetts
Alexandra Werntz, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
University of Massachusetts Boston
Charlottesville, Virginia
Selen Amado, PhD
Doctoral Candidate in Clinical Psychology
University of Massachusetts Boston
Boston, Massachusetts
Jean Rhordes, Ph.D
Professor
University of Massachusetts Boston
Boston, Massachusetts
Mental health challenges among youth are highly prevalent. In fact, three major institutions (American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and Children’s Hospital Association) recently declared that there is a “national emergency in child and adolescent mental health” (2021) as rates of mental health challenges have increased among this population in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the increase in mental health challenges among youth, there is a critical shortage of highly-trained mental health providers and resources for struggling youth. Moreover, there continues to be racial and ethnic disparities in access to mental health resources. One possible strategy for bridging gaps in mental health care is to deploy volunteer mentors. Although mentors are not trained mental health providers, they may be a less-stigmatized support for youth of color with early stage mental health challenges.Although previous research suggests that some parents refer their children to mentoring programs for mental health support for their children. Little is known about caregivers’ attitudes about having mentors supporting their children’s mental health. Understanding these key stakeholders’ attitudes is a critical step as we consider strategies for adapting mental health service models to meet the needs of youth with mental health challenges. In this talk, we present findings from parents/guardians of children in mentoring programs (n=4826; 50.6% female; 61.6% White, 20.3% Black) from diverse backgrounds about their attitudes towards their child receiving mental health support from trained mental health providers and their mentors. Results indicated that White parents had more positive attitudes about seeking psychological help than Black parents (χ2 = 3.92, p=.001). However, Black parents were more likely than their White and Native counterparts to report that mental health support from both therapists (χ2 = 3.92, p< .001) and mentors (χ2 = 11.07, p< .001) is more helpful. Frequencies of concerns endorsed by parents associated with discussing mental health challenges with therapists and mentors will be discussed. The results highlight racial differences in parents' attitude towards seeking help for their children’s mental health challenges. Implications for mentoring programs, including the need to provide mental health training for mentors, will be discussed.