Racial/Ethnic Differences in Caregivers' Perceptions of the Need for and Utilization of Adolescent Psychological Counseling and Support Services

Background: Black caregivers may be more likely to have negative experiences with mental health services/providers and lack knowledge of psychopathology and mental health services relative to White caregivers. These perceptual and informational barriers could influence the likelihood that Black caregivers utilize psychological counseling and support services for their adolescents compared to White caregivers. The current study examined differences between Black and White caregivers in the associations between their adolescents' internalizing and externalizing problems and their perceptions of need for and utilization of psychological counseling and support services. Method: Data for the present study were collected from 741 diverse caregivers (63% Black, 37% non-Hispanic White) about their adolescents. Caregivers reported their adolescent's psychopathology and their perceptions of their adolescent's need for and utilization of psychological counseling. parenting classes, and youth mentoring programs. Results: Caregivers who reported that their adolescents had clinically elevated psychopathology were more likely to report a need for psychological counseling or support services in general. However, they were only more likely to report that their adolescents received psychological counseling services. Black caregivers were significantly less likely than White caregivers to report that their adolescent needed psychological counseling and were more likely than White caregivers to report that their adolescents needed a youth mentoring program if they had clinically elevated externalizing problems. Conclusions: Black caregivers may perceive mentoring programs as a less stigmatizing and more culturally congruent support service for addressing externalizing problems. Integration and dissemination of evidence-based intervention strategies to underserved populations using culturally acceptable intervention modalities is needed.