Counseling Attitudes and Stigma Among Polynesian Americans

Abstract

There is a paucity of research on the mental health of Pacific Islanders living in the United States, including those of Polynesian descent. This study examined coping strategies, attitudes toward seeking mental health counseling, public and self-stigma toward seeking mental health services, and psychological adjustment among 638 Polynesian Americans. On average, participants held neither favorable nor unfavorable attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help, but men endorsed moderate self-stigma about mental illness and women endorsed high levels of public stigma about mental illness. Women showed relatively more favorable attitudes than men about seeking help from professional mental health providers. Participants reported benefitting more from culturally congruent practices for coping with distress (accepting, reframing, striving, family support, and religiosity/ spirituality) than from seeking assistance from private emotional outlets (e.g., therapy) or avoidance and detachment. Mental health professionals need to build cross-cultural bridges and culturally adapt services to address concerns among Polynesian Americans.

Family Adversity and Relationship Quality for Pacific Islanders and the Mediating Role of Coming to Terms, Self‐Esteem, and Depression

“…Therefore, we suggest that clinicians familiarize themselves with the extant work of researchers, healthcare providers, and clinicians who have documented important contextual factors and therapy considerations when working with specific groups within this population. We recommend clinicians interested in learning more read any of the following overview articles/books written by Allen and Smith (2015) and Allen et al (2016), Braun et al (2014Braun et al ( , 2015, Culbertson, et al (2007), Kaholokula et al (2012Kaholokula et al ( , 2019, Mau (2010); Marsella et al (2005), Valentine et al (2017), andWhealin et al (2017).…”

The influence of individual and congregational religiousness on seeking psychotherapy: A multilevel analysis.

“…In this lens, our results suggest that older adults may not seek treatment due to concerns around stigma rather than due to poor views of treatment (Mackenzie, Scott, Mather, & Sareen, 2008). They may also suggest that factors other than subjective norms and attitudes—such as perceived control of behavior or structural stigma (Allen et al, 2016; Cheng, Kwan, & Sevig, 2013; Heath et al, 2016; Owen et al, 2013)—are responsible for disparities in treatment seeking based on race/ethnicity. Our results may also indicate that although being a woman and having formal education may be associated with more positive attitudes toward treatment seeking, having positive attitudes is not sufficient to produce increased rates of seeking treatment (Hammer & Vogel, 2013).…”

“…Race/ethnicity may affect psychotherapy seeking both directly and indirectly. Individuals’ attitudes toward and subjective norms around psychotherapy seeking are influenced in large part by their racial/ethnic identity (Allen, Kim, Smith, & Hafoka, 2016; Heath, Vogel, & Al-Darmaki, 2016; Owen, Thomas, & Rodolfa, 2013). Because race/ethnicity is related to socioeconomic status (Williams, Priest, & Anderson, 2016) and many people of color report negative experiences in therapy due to cultural conflicts (Lynch, Vansteenkiste, Deci, & Ryan, 2011), race/ethnicity may also relate to perceived behavioral control.…”

“…Generally, women are more likely to seek psychotherapy than men (Booth, McDermott, Cheng, & Borgogna, 2019; Hammer & Vogel, 2010; McDermott et al, 2017). Although women may experience more distress than men due to systemic oppression (Lefevor, Boyd-Rogers, Sprague, & Janis, 2019), which may lead them to seek treatment more readily, women also report more favorable attitudes (Allen et al, 2016; Vogel, Heimerdinger-Edwards, Hammer, & Hubbard, 2011) and less perceived stigma (Salsman et al, 2015; Owen et al, 2013) toward psychotherapy than men. These favorable attitudes and decreased stigma may also empower women to have a greater sense of perceived control over accessing treatment.…”

Assessing the Social Impact of Mental Health Service Accessibility by a Nonprofit Social Enterprise: A Mixed--methods Case Study

“…Logistical barriers can include cost (Browne et al, 2019;Owens, Rogers, & Whitesell, 2011), transportation (Browne et al, 2019;Hundt et al, 2018;Pepin et al, 2009;Pfeiffer et al, 2016), and lack of time (Browne et al, 2019;Hundt et al, 2018). Furthermore, service users may interpret available mental health supports as incompatible with non-Western cultures and, as such, not a viable means to address mental health concerns (Allen, Kim, Smith, & Hafoka, 2016;Bettmann, Penney, Freeman, & Lecy, 2015). For example, language has been considered a barrier, specifically in cases where service users lack the ability to communicate in the dominant language (Saha, Fernandez, & Perez-Stable, 2007).…”