WHAT IMPACT DOES RELIGIOUS BELIEFS HAVE AMONG AFRICAN AMERICANS ATTITUDES TOWARDS GETTING MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES?

Mental Health in America is a continuous and on ongoing concern for families across the nation. For African Americans there are certain contributing factors that can increase the likelihood that an individual will suffer from a mental health disorder. African Americans have been identified as persons who are less likely to seek mental health services. By using the positivist paradigm, the research question, “What Impact Does Religious Beliefs Have Among African American Attitudes Towards Getting Mental Health Services? is explored. In order to conduct this study, the researcher constructed a survey of 16 questions for African American male and female participants ages eighteen to sixty-five. All participants were members of the identified local Christian church. The quantitative data was analyzed by using SPSS. Data analysis indicated that there is no relationship between the two identified variables of religious beliefs and attitudes towards mental health. The research study findings will highlight the need for further studies to identify barriers which contribute to the lack of mental health services within the African American communities, and ways in which social workers can improve interventions strategies at the micro level