Cross generational immigrant attitudes toward mental health services

Depression is a major mental health problem both in the United States and globally, and thus, increasing research has focused on how to treat it. The major treatments include medication and psychotherapy; however, it appears that most depressed individuals are selecting pharmacological treatment as opposed to psychological treatment despite treatments similar outcomes. This is in contract to survey data which suggests that individuals overall prefer psychological types of treatment (Givens et al., 2007; Olfson & Marcus, 2009). As the population of the United States increases to become more ethnically and cultural diverse, little is known about how racial and cultural factors impact treatment selection. Therefore, this study assessed the role of acculturation in treatment preference for depression. Specifically, the study sought to determine the acceptability of pharmacological treatments and assess whether this differs across immigration and generational status. The sample was comprised of 580 racially and ethnically diverse undergraduate students who completed a series of questionnaires to assess their level of acculturation and treatment preference. Overall, we did not find a significant difference in preference for medication across generations suggesting acculturation level may not contribute to depression treatment selection. However, we did find that higher levels of immersion in American culture play role in the selecting psychological treatments which may suggest the level of psychological literacy and overall knowledge of mental health related issues is higher in the U.S. in comparison to other cultures. Further, we found that those who reported higher levels of depressive symptoms also reported a preference for pharmacological types of treatment. These findings point to the fact that the more people suffer from depressive symptoms, the more likely they would choose treatment that provide faster relief