Abstract
Purpose. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between acculturation, mental health ideology, willingness to seek mental health services, and actual utilization of such resources among Mexican American men. Method. A convenience sample was composed of 179 men of Mexican American descent attending three community colleges and a private university in southern California, with a mean age of 26 years. The Opinion About Mental Illness Scale (OMI) was used to measure five mental health ideologies: Authoritarianism, Benevolence, Mental Hygiene Ideology, Social Restrictiveness, and Interpersonal Etiology. The Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican American-II (ARSMA-II) was used to measure acculturation. The Attitude Toward Seeking Professional Psychological (ATSPP) was used to measure willingness to seek help. Surveys were completed in classroom settings. The Cronbach Alpha measures of internal consistency within the present study were low for ATSPP and the ideology subscales of Benevolence, Mental Health Ideology and Social Restrictiveness. Results with these measures should be interpreted cautiously. Result. ANOVA, Pearson correlation, t-test, and content analysis were used to analyze the data. A Pearson correlation showed that those men who scored higher on Mental Hygiene Ideology were less willing to seek mental health services (r = −.34). Different levels of acculturation were unrelated to seeking help, and any of the mental hygiene ideology scales. Those who have sought help compared to those who have not were more willing to seek mental health services. Content analysis of two open-ended questions indicated that those who receive psychological help tend to embrace a positive view toward those who need mental health, which is likely to be attributed to their past and present help seeking behavior. It is likely that their past experiences receiving mental heath services influence their perceptions about mental health services. Future research should further examine a more diverse sample of Mexican American men to add to the understanding of their mental health belief system and help seeking behavior.