Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2022

DOI

10.52678/​2021.JHS.A3

Publication Title

Journal of Human Services

Volume

41

Issue

1

Pages

31-48

Abstract

This qualitative phenomenological study explored the mental health services utilization experiences of African American emerging adults and investigated the barriers and encumbrances interviewees experienced while seeking mental health support. An inductive thematic analysis revealed six themes: (a) hesitancy-acceptance conflict, (b) positive encounters with mental health services utilization, (c) intersectional barriers to seeking mental health services, (d) resource awareness and navigation, (e) help-seeking motivators, and (f) pastoral guidance and counseling. Interviewees emphasized financial factors, services affordability, and resource knowledgeability as prominent barriers to mental health services utilization, denoting familial, peer, and culturally driven faith influences as double-edged motivators and hindrances to help-seeking. Initial implications for community and college human services providers recommend mental health advocacy promotion through increased on-campus services visibility, off-campus resource accessibility, and culturally attuned collaborations.

Rights

© 2022 by the authors.

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC-BY-4.0).

Comments

As of May 2025, The DOI to this article: https://doi.org/10.52678/2021.JHS.A3, is non-functional.

The publisher landing page is available at: https://journalhumanservices.org/issue/7142

ORCID

0000-0002-8898-3499 (Robins)

Original Publication Citation

Suggs, B. G., Robins, L. B., Kerrigan, R., Cannedy, M., Buquo, M. S., & Savinsky, D. M. (2022). Help-seeking and services utilization among African American emerging adults: A qualitative study. Journal of Human Services, 41(1), 31-48. https://journalhumanservices.org/article/74248-help-seeking-and-services-utilization-among-african-american-emerging-adults-a-qualitative-study

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