Attitudes toward mental health services among homeless, runaway and housed youth

Graduation Date

2013

Document Type

Thesis

Program

Other

Program

Thesis (M.A.)--Humboldt State University, Psychology: Academic Research, 2013

Committee Chair Name

Tasha Howe

Committee Chair Affiliation

HSU Faculty or Staff

Keywords

Mental health stigma, Help seeking, Humboldt State University -- Projects -- Psychology, Psychological openness, Youth attitudes, Mental health services, Social support, Service utilization, Homeless and runaway youth

Abstract

Youth homelessness is a serious concern in the United States that is commonly influenced by family conflict and parental maltreatment leading youth to flee their homes. Early traumatic experiences, combined with high rates of victimization, contribute to elevated levels of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, and suicidality among homeless and runaway youth. A small number of studies have been conducted on mental health service use among homeless and runaway youth, with the majority of those studies reporting an under-utilization of services. The current study provides an analysis of homeless and runaway youths' attitudes towards mental health services in order to identify possible factors that can assist service providers with understanding and increasing service engagement. Variables examined included help seeking propensity, psychological openness, concern for mental health stigma, parental maltreatment, street victimization and services needs assessment. The current study also examines the relationship between social support and attitudes toward mental health services. A comparison sample of housed youth was obtained in order to determine if mental health attitudes are unique to homeless youth. Fifty-six youth who identified as homeless were recruited through youth drop-in centers and a shelter in Northern California, and 97 housed youth were recruited from alternative community continuation schools in the same region. Analysis of variance showed that homeless and housed groups did not differ significantly on attitudes toward mental health services, help seeking propensity, psychological openness, and concern for mental health stigma. Additional findings revealed that, for homeless youth, the more perceived friend support, the more their concern for mental health stigma decreased and the more supportive individuals available, the more positive attitudes toward mental health services and help seeking propensity increased. Comparison of correlations between homeless and housed groups revealed only one significant difference; the association between perceived family support and help seeking propensity was strongest for the housed group than for the homeless group. Results demonstrated that homeless youth and housed youth share similar attitudes toward mental health services, help seeking propensity, psychological openness, and concern for mental health stigma. Mean scores obtained on these measures were comparable to the only existing study on adolescents' attitudes toward mental health services, which suggested that these attitudes might be typical across multiple youth populations. Findings also indicate that higher social support is associated with increased attitudes toward mental health services, increased help seeking propensity, and decreased concern for mental health stigma for homeless youth and high perceived family support is associated with increased help seeking propensity for housed youth. Service providers can benefit from these results by modifying programs or outreach efforts to include assistance with transportation to services (a key barrier youth identified), target social support and emphasize positive youth development practices in order to increase positive attitudes toward service providers and increase service use.

https://scholarworks.calstate.edu/concern/theses/h415pc807

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