West African immigrants in Northern California and their attitudes toward seeking mental health services

This quantitative study investigated the attitudes toward seeking psychological help as predicted by degree of acculturation, severity of self-reported problems, and beliefs about the cause of mental health problems among West African immigrants in Northern California. The research questions explored were centered on the level of comfort in admitting they have mental, emotional and behavioral problems, and the level of comfort in seeking mental health services from qualified professionals in Northern California. The study also explored education, economy, acculturation, and access to information influencing the immigrants' attitudes towards seeking mental health services. One hundred and 16 respondents participated in the survey. The results identified interactional attribution beliefs about mental health problems as the only significant predictor. West African immigrants reported various concerns with their mental and physical health. Overall, they reported preference for the use of informal systems of support to resolve their emotional concerns and the use of medical doctors for physical concern. In particular, West African immigrants' preferred to seek the help of family, elder in the community, spiritual healer and using herbal means to solve their mental health needs than going to medical doctors in the western system of medicine.