Experiences of African American Male Veterans Accessing Mental Health Treatment
type: CreativeWork
description: ABSTRACT Background: African Americans are 10 percent more likely to report having serious psychological distress than Non-Hispanic whites (National Center for Health Statistics, 2018). Previous studies found African Americans use mental health services less than other race/ethnicities. Additionally, African American males are less likely to seek help for mental health issues regardless of the severity and range of these issues. Those who do are at risk of dropping out of treatment (Hudson et al., 2016). In addition, the status of being a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces places persons at particular risk for needing mental health services. Thus, the current need to provide African American male veterans (AAMVs) with mental health services is particularly acute and remains an understudied area. (Hom et al., 2017.). The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study is to explore the lived experiences of AAMVs as they access and utilize mental health services. Lines of Inquiry: The specific lines of inquiry of the study are to describe how AAMV’s: 1) Perceive their experiences of seeking of mental health treatment; 2) Perceive mental health treatment providers; and 3) Perceive possible barriers to continued mental health treatment. Methods: This study used a qualitative phenomenological method to explore experiences and feelings of African-American males as they access and utilize mental health services. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory of human development was used as a lens to organize thematically the expressed lived experiences of the participants. A systematic collection of the participants’ recollections was analyzed using the phenomenological method. Results: The findings of this research study support the importance of family and peer support when initiating services, but also the importance of feeling supported by the military, while they are active duty to initiate an engage in mental health treatment. The findings further showed feeling their clinicia…
abstract: ABSTRACT Background: African Americans are 10 percent more likely to report having serious psychological distress than Non-Hispanic whites (National Center for Health Statistics, 2018). Previous studies found African Americans use mental health services less than other race/ethnicities. Additionally, African American males are less likely to seek help for mental health issues regardless of the severity and range of these issues. Those who do are at risk of dropping out of treatment (Hudson et al., 2016). In addition, the status of being a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces places persons at particular risk for needing mental health services. Thus, the current need to provide African American male veterans (AAMVs) with mental health services is particularly acute and remains an understudied area. (Hom et al., 2017.). The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study is to explore the lived experiences of AAMVs as they access and utilize mental health services. Lines of Inquiry: The specific lines of inquiry of the study are to describe how AAMV’s: 1) Perceive their experiences of seeking of mental health treatment; 2) Perceive mental health treatment providers; and 3) Perceive possible barriers to continued mental health treatment. Methods: This study used a qualitative phenomenological method to explore experiences and feelings of African-American males as they access and utilize mental health services. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory of human development was used as a lens to organize thematically the expressed lived experiences of the participants. A systematic collection of the participants’ recollections was analyzed using the phenomenological method. Results: The findings of this research study support the importance of family and peer support when initiating services, but also the importance of feeling supported by the military, while they are active duty to initiate an engage in mental health treatment. The findings further showed feeling their clinicia…
author: Baker, catherine
keywords: Mental health, Veterans, Psychiatric and Mental Health
date published: 2021-01-01T08:00:00Z
date modified: 2026-07-24T05:41:28Z
provider: University of San Diego
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of San Diego