Predictive Factors of Psychological Help-Seeking Among Native Americans in North Carolina and South Carolina

Predictive Factors of Psychological Help-Seeking Among Native Americans in North Carolina and South Carolina

Indians of North America--Ethnology

Kristen Walker

Christopher Gene Locklear

2024

The University of North Carolina at Charlotte ProQuest Dissertations & Theses

Dissertation

English

9798382308791

South Carolina, United States; North Carolina, United States

Restricted Access

Despite being the original inhabitants of the United States, Native Americans have been subjected to (1) colonization, (2) assimilation, and (3) acculturation (Finding et al., 2019). This cultural takeover was accomplished through (1) forced relocation, (2) boarding schools, (3) genocide, (4) forced sterilization, (5) environmental degradation, (5) discrimination, and (6) segregation (Findling et al., 2019). These adverse experiences have led to the high prevalence of hospitalizations, post-traumatic stress disorders, depression, displacement, substance abuse, suicide, homicide, poverty, loss of cultural identity, and death among the Native American population; yet mental health services remain underutilized within this population despite the need for services (Alcántara & Gone, 2014; Brave Heart et al., 2011; Burnette & Figely, 2017; Dennis, 2016). The present study examines a sample of (N=199) exploring how (1) acculturation, (2) centrality of religiosity, (3) gender (4) socioeconomic status, and (5) social support influence attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help among North Carolina and South Carolina Native Americans? A multiple linear regression model of the predictor variables indicated that cultural self-expression and higher levels of social support were predictive of a greater likelihood of the utilization of professional psychological help seeking among the participants. The regression model accounted for 12.6% of the variance in psychological help seeking.