Language
English (en)
Date of Award
7-3-2024
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Chair and Committee
Leopoldo Cabassa
Abstract
The Latinx population in the United States faces persistent and growing inequities in the access to, utilization, and quality of mental health care for depression, even after adjusting for health insurance status and socioeconomic factors. Access and utilization are critical, as depression is one of the most disabling mental health conditions among Latinx adults, reporting almost similar rates of major depression disorders and possibly higher levels of depressive symptoms compared to non-Latinx whites. Low levels of mental health literacy (i.e., knowledge and understanding of mental health disorders and treatments) and public mental health stigma (i.e., negative attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of people with mental illness) continue to be persistent barriers to mental health care in this population as they result in decreased use, acceptance, and engagement in mental health care. Mass media (television, radio, Internet) is a powerful force that could affect all elements of public stigma and mental health literacy. On one hand, mass media could be used as a tool to reduce mental health care inequities and drive access to care. However, it has also been a source of public stigma by negatively portraying people with mental health illnesses (labeling them as dangerous, violent, and unpredictable). Given that Latinx adults’ mass media use is rising, this medium has the potential to drive broad change in reducing public mental health stigma and improving mental health literacy among the Latinx population. That said, surprising gaps in research remain in (a) understanding of the factors that influence intentions to seek information about depression on five mass media platforms (social media, television, radio, newspapers, and Internet websites) and (b) how Spanish-language media in the U.S., reports on issues of depression. This dissertation includes two studies addressing three aims: a quantitative online survey and a Spanish language media content analysis. The whole sample of Study 1 consisted of 212 Latinx adult participants, with a mean age of 34 years (SD= 13.78) (see Table 2). Five participants who identified as other for their gender were excluded from the analysis. Half the participants were female (50%), and around two-thirds (65%) had some college experience. Additionally, over half of the participants were single (55%) and had at least an annual household income of $40,000 (59%). The top three Latinx subgroups represented in the sample were Mexicans (55%), Puerto Ricans (9%), and Salvadoreans (7%). Over half of the participants indicated social media (54%) as the platform they used most frequently. When participants were asked about their intentions to seek information about depression on a mass media platform, on average, Internet websites were the most highly rated platform participants intended to use for these purposes. Aim 1 characterizes how demographics (education, age), language use preference, depression symptoms, and past experiences with formal and informal mental health care influence intentions to seek information about depression on five mass media platforms. Aim 1 finding indicated that after accounting for all predictors in five hierarchical multiple regression models, annual household income, individuals who made $19,000 or less were negatively associated with intentions to seek information about depression on social media and internet websites. Language use preference toward English was also found to be negatively associated with intentions to seek information about depression on social media and radio. Last, past experiences with informal mental health care also had a significant positive relationship with intentions to seek information about depression on the radio. Aim 2 examines the relationship between depression literacy and public mental health stigma with intentions to seek information about depression on five mass media platforms while controlling for population characteristics (demographic, language use preference, depression symptoms, and past experiences with formal and informal mental health care). We found a positive association between knowledge of depression symptoms and intentions to seek information about depression on internet websites, and social distance was negatively associated with intentions to seek information about depression on television and Internet websites. Aim 3 consists of a content analysis of news stories about depression in U.S. Spanish-language news outlets over 10 years (2013–2023) to examine the presence of stereotypes (violent, suicidal), recovery themes, educational information (factual information about the causes, symptoms, and treatment) and reporting guidelines. We examined 56 news reports in the U.S. published from 2013 to 2023. Most news reports in this study presented a counterstigma frame aimed at correcting or addressing the stigma associated with people living with depression. We also found a low prevalence of all four types of stigmatizing stereotypes, including portraying a person living with depression as violent, suicidal, incompetent, and weak. Most news articles (66%) included recovery themes, with reporting on positive emotions and educational information being the most common. In terms of best practices, most articles used person-first language when referring to people living with depression. However, few news articles included information about treatment options, where or how to seek mental health care, and the voices of people with depression or their family members/caregivers. Overall, these studies contribute to the understanding of the factors that influence the intention to seek information about depression among Latinx adults residing in nontraditional receiving communities.
Recommended Citation
Pérez-Flores, Nancy Jacquelyn, "Examining Mass Media, Depression Literacy, and Public Mental Health Stigma Among the Latinx Population Residing in Nontraditional Receiving Communities" (2024). Brown School Theses and Dissertations. 36.
https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/brown_etds/36