Symposia
Oppression and Resilience Minority Health
Rebecca Browne, M.S.
Suffolk University
Dorchester, Massachusetts
Sarah Schwartz, Ph.D.
Second
Suffolk University
Boston, Massachusetts
Background: Mass traumas have been associated with increased mental health concerns. Both within and outside of the context of mass traumas, help-seeking attitudes and behaviors among Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) are low (Harris et al., 2005; Lui et al., 2008). Identifying and addressing the individual, cultural, and systemic factors that influence help-seeking behaviors among BIPOC individuals may help bridge the mental health service utilization gap. Research suggests that self-compassion is associated with help-seeking intention (Dschaak et al., 2021). Thus, the present study examined relationships between the individual elements of self-compassion including self-kindness, mindfulness, common humanity, self-judgment, over-identification, and isolation, and mental health help-seeking attitudes and behaviors among BIPOC individuals.
Methods: Three hundred and forty-seven BIPOC participants (Mean age = 22.1; SD = 5.6; 67.8% female) completed surveys consisting of the Mental Help Seeking Attitudes Scale (MHSAS), the Self-Compassion Scale-Short Form (SCS-SF), and self-created questions regarding receiving help for mental health concerns. Linear regression analyses were used to examine associations between self-compassion and mental health help-seeking attitudes. Logistic regression analyses were used to examine associations between self-compassion and mental health help-seeking behaviors when controlling for the self-identified presence of a mental health concern.
Results: Results revealed that only self-kindness (β = .02, p = .016) and self-judgment (β = -.13, p = .027) were significantly associated with help-seeking attitudes. Similarly, only self-kindness (OR = 1.60, p = .011) and self-judgment (OR = .62, p = .022) were associated with receiving mental health care.
Discussion: Self-kindness and self-judgement are differentially associated with help-seeking attitudes and behaviors in the present BIPOC college student sample. Interestingly, individuals reporting higher levels of self-kindness endorsed more favorable help-seeking attitudes but were less likely to receive care if they felt they had a mental health concern. Conversely, individuals who endorsed higher levels of self-judgement reported poorer help-seeking attitudes but were more likely to receive care if they felt they had a mental health concern. Clinical implications of these results and future directions are discussed.