Mental Health Help-Seeking Behaviors and Service Utilization of Black College Students

The current political climate and the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted Black college students’ mental health. Despite access to mental health services through their institutions, Black college students underutilize services. We sought to identify their mental health help-seeking behaviors, barriers and supports for help-seeking, service utilization provider preferences, and ideas for promoting mental health help-seeking. Twenty-one Black college students (range 18–21 years old, M age = 18.76 years) participated in semi-structured qualitative interviews. Notably, (61.9%) participants described positive personal experiences (e.g., theirs or their family’s) and attitudes toward mental health help-seeking. Stigma emerged as the primary barrier preventing students from seeking help, while social influence (e.g., family and peer) was the most prominent facilitator. Students preferred seeking help from people they are most comfortable with and who are the most trustworthy. Finally, 42.9% of students recommended targeted outreach to Black college students to increase mental health help-seeking behavior and decrease stigma. Results expand the existing literature while providing unique insights from Black college students about how to promote mental health help-seeking by leveraging cultural assets.