{"id":{"repo_id":"houston","oai_identifier":"oai:uh-ir.tdl.org:10657/14514"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/houston/oai:uh-ir.tdl.org:10657/14514","repository":{"repo_id":"houston","name":"University of Houston","base_url":"https://uh-ir.tdl.org/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"What Would You Do? Racial Differences in Mental Health Coping Strategies","abstract":"Personal mental health coping mechanisms are both social and individual behaviors that relieve stress and other negative emotions. They are considered alternative to formal coping strategies due to the fact that they are not used under the guide of a mental health professional or in combination with therapy and medicine. Evidence shows that overall, black Americans use formal mental health therapy and medicine the least compared to other races and ethnicities, especially whites. What is lacking in the literature is an understanding of willingness to utilize traditional mental health services, as well as alternative coping strategies, both across different races/ethnicities and across different groups of blacks. Using a 2022 survey of Houston, Texas residents, I explore racial and ethnic differences in both formal and personal coping mechanisms, such as exercise, social networks, and religion through binary logistic regressions. The main finding of this study is that the largest differences in willingness to use coping strategies (both traditional and personal) varies more across racial groups rather than within the black community. Also, more than other racial groups, blacks are more likely to utilize religious services as a mental health strategy. This paper provides foundations for future policy and research concerning willingness to use mental health services and coping strategies both across racial groups and within the black community.","abstract_html":"Personal mental health coping mechanisms are both social and individual behaviors that relieve stress and other negative emotions. They are considered alternative to formal coping strategies due to the fact that they are not used under the guide of a mental health professional or in combination with therapy and medicine. Evidence shows that overall, black Americans use formal mental health therapy and medicine the least compared to other races and ethnicities, especially whites. What is lacking in the literature is an understanding of willingness to utilize traditional mental health services, as well as alternative coping strategies, both across different races/ethnicities and across different groups of blacks. Using a 2022 survey of Houston, Texas residents, I explore racial and ethnic differences in both formal and personal coping mechanisms, such as exercise, social networks, and religion through binary logistic regressions. The main finding of this study is that the largest differences in willingness to use coping strategies (both traditional and personal) varies more across racial groups rather than within the black community. Also, more than other racial groups, blacks are more likely to utilize religious services as a mental health strategy. This paper provides foundations for future policy and research concerning willingness to use mental health services and coping strategies both across racial groups and within the black community.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Hart, Darralyn Nicole"],"institution":"University of Houston","degree_name":"Master of Arts","degree_level":"Masters","degree_discipline":"Sociology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Anderson, Kathryn F."],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":["Oyarvide Tuthill, Zelma","Gallagher, Matthew W."],"year":2023,"date_issued":"2023-05-16","date_published":"2023-05-16","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:31:42Z","subjects":["Black","Black Americans","Mental health","Equity","Inequality","Mental health coping mechanisms","Racial disparities"],"languages":["eng"],"rights":["The author of this work is the copyright owner. UH Libraries and the Texas Digital Library have their permission to store and provide access to this work. Further transmission, reproduction, or presentation of this work is prohibited except with permission of the author(s)."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/10657/14514","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Anderson, Kathryn F."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Oyarvide Tuthill, Zelma","Gallagher, Matthew W."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Hart, Darralyn Nicole"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2023-06-14T16:32:41Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2023-06-14T16:32:41Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2023-05-16"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Sociology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["University of Houston"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Black","Black Americans","Mental health","Equity","Inequality","Mental health coping mechanisms","Racial disparities"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["eng"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["The author of this work is the copyright owner. UH Libraries and the Texas Digital Library have their permission to store and provide access to this work. Further transmission, reproduction, or presentation of this work is prohibited except with permission of the author(s)."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/10657/14514"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Personal mental health coping mechanisms are both social and individual behaviors that relieve stress and other negative emotions. They are considered alternative to formal coping strategies due to the fact that they are not used under the guide of a mental health professional or in combination with therapy and medicine. Evidence shows that overall, black Americans use formal mental health therapy and medicine the least compared to other races and ethnicities, especially whites. What is lacking in the literature is an understanding of willingness to utilize traditional mental health services, as well as alternative coping strategies, both across different races/ethnicities and across different groups of blacks. Using a 2022 survey of Houston, Texas residents, I explore racial and ethnic differences in both formal and personal coping mechanisms, such as exercise, social networks, and religion through binary logistic regressions. The main finding of this study is that the largest differences in willingness to use coping strategies (both traditional and personal) varies more across racial groups rather than within the black community. Also, more than other racial groups, blacks are more likely to utilize religious services as a mental health strategy. This paper provides foundations for future policy and research concerning willingness to use mental health services and coping strategies both across racial groups and within the black community."]},{"key":"dc:format.mimetype","label":"Dc Format Mimetype","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["What Would You Do? Racial Differences in Mental Health Coping Strategies"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Anderson, Kathryn F."],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Oyarvide Tuthill, Zelma","Gallagher, Matthew W."],"dc:creator":["Hart, Darralyn Nicole"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2023-06-14T16:32:41Z"],"dc:date.available":["2023-06-14T16:32:41Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2023-05-16"],"dc:description.abstract":["Personal mental health coping mechanisms are both social and individual behaviors that relieve stress and other negative emotions. They are considered alternative to formal coping strategies due to the fact that they are not used under the guide of a mental health professional or in combination with therapy and medicine. Evidence shows that overall, black Americans use formal mental health therapy and medicine the least compared to other races and ethnicities, especially whites. What is lacking in the literature is an understanding of willingness to utilize traditional mental health services, as well as alternative coping strategies, both across different races/ethnicities and across different groups of blacks. Using a 2022 survey of Houston, Texas residents, I explore racial and ethnic differences in both formal and personal coping mechanisms, such as exercise, social networks, and religion through binary logistic regressions. The main finding of this study is that the largest differences in willingness to use coping strategies (both traditional and personal) varies more across racial groups rather than within the black community. Also, more than other racial groups, blacks are more likely to utilize religious services as a mental health strategy. This paper provides foundations for future policy and research concerning willingness to use mental health services and coping strategies both across racial groups and within the black community."],"dc:format.mimetype":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/10657/14514"],"dc:language.iso":["eng"],"dc:rights":["The author of this work is the copyright owner. UH Libraries and the Texas Digital Library have their permission to store and provide access to this work. Further transmission, reproduction, or presentation of this work is prohibited except with permission of the author(s)."],"dc:subject":["Black","Black Americans","Mental health","Equity","Inequality","Mental health coping mechanisms","Racial disparities"],"dc:title":["What Would You Do? Racial Differences in Mental Health Coping Strategies"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Sociology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Masters"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts"],"thesis:institution_name":["University of Houston"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:31:42Z"}