The Influence of Cultural and Caregiver Factors on Child Inclination toward Disclosure

Although a considerable body of research has looked at factors underlying mental health help-seeking behaviors, many facets of this pathway have received only marginal attention, particularly for internalizing concerns in children. Moreover, caregivers and culture can exert a pronounced influence on family dynamics, conferring values and beliefs that can facilitate or inhibit help-seeking. In a two-group study of international (n = 20) and domestic (n = 20) families, we sought to determine whether parental and cultural factors could differentially predict children's tendency to disclose, withhold, or mask internalizing (i.e., anxiety and depression) symptoms. Caregivers completed a battery of measures while children completed self-report questionnaires and an interactive activity to assess disclosure propensity. Results indicate that parenting and attitudinal factors are not necessarily implicated in predicting children's decisions for both anxiety and depression, and irrespective of cultural background. However, among international families, children's inclination toward disclosure of anxiety-related concerns reflected significant cultural influences (Wilks' λ = .386, Chi-square = 15.230, df = 6, Canonical correlation = .729, p = .019). Caregiver acculturation in particular was found to account for 84.2% of the variance, with children of less acculturated parents being more likely to mask as opposed to disclose or withhold.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Psychology

Department dc:contributor.department

Psychology

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

2017

Author dc:creator

• Salinas, Carlos Enrique

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• White, Susan W.

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Dunsmore, Julie C.
• Ollendick, Thomas H.

• mental health
• child disclosure
• culture
• parenting
• caregiver

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en_US

Dc Identifier Other

etd-04122017-134527

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/79947