Abstract
College student-athletes are at-risk for mental health issues, as well as for not accessing mental health services. Stigma about needing/receiving mental health services is often presumed to be a barrier to mental healthcare but the role of racial/ethnic minority status is largely absent from inquiries on these processes. Utilizing Healthy Minds Study data spanning 2015–2019 (Nweighted = 4,089), this study examined racial/ethnic variations in mental health stigma in relation to mental health psychotherapy utilization for student-athletes. Interaction results suggested racial/ethnic variations. There were no correlations between personal or perceived public stigma and mental health psychotherapy utilization for racial/ethnic minority student-athletes. Conversely, perceived public stigma was tied to mental health psychotherapy utilization whereas personal stigma was linked to unmet mental health need for White student-athletes. While stigma has been presumed to be a driving force of student-athletes’ unmet mental health needs, findings suggest variations based on racial/ethnic minority status and type of stigma.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 392-409 |
Number of pages | 18 |
Journal | Journal of College Student Psychotherapy |
Volume | 36 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2022 |
Keywords
- Student-athletes
- mental health
- perceived public stigma
- personal stigma
- race/ethnicity
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Clinical Psychology
- Psychiatry and Mental health