Date on Master's Thesis/Doctoral Dissertation
8-2025
Document Type
Doctoral Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph. D.
Department
Health Management and Systems Sciences
Degree Program
Public Health Sciences with a specialization in Health Management, PhD
Committee Chair
Johnson, Christopher E.
Committee Member
Karimi, Seyed M.
Committee Member
Antimisiaris, Demetra
Committee Member
Roelf, David
Author's Keywords
mental health service utilization; stigma, discrimination; Arab/Middle Eastern students; healthy minds study
Abstract
Arab Middle Eastern (AME) United States (US) college-attending students are more susceptible to disproportionate mental health problems and underutilization of mental healthcare services due to cultural, structural, and psychosocial barriers. The study examines mental health service utilization and mental health outcomes among AME, particularly focusing on the impact of structural, cultural, and psychosocial determinants grounded in Andersen and Aday’s Health Services research model and Corrigan’s stigma framework. The three interconnected aims use secondary nationally representative data from the Healthy Minds Study (HMS) 2019-2024. The study was analyzed using logistic regression and generalized structural equation modeling across three aims to identify disparities in mental health service utilization among AME and international students. The study findings establish that perceived need, stigma, discrimination, and loneliness significantly affect mental health outcomes and service use. Only 44% of AME students reported lifetime therapy use compared to their White counterparts. Percieved need (OR=5.44), insurance (OR=1.96), and awareness of services (OR=1.77) significantly predicted mental health service utilization. Loneliness increased the odds of depression (OR=2.19) and digital mental health service use (OR=2.86). Self-stigma mediated the effect of public stigma on professional help-seeking behavior. Cultural stigma, discrimination, and cultural barriers tend to have cumulative association with the underutilization of mental health services among AME students. Critical interventional opportunities among such target groups must be culturally adaptive and stigma-informed to improve the different utilization outcomes among cultural minorities in the U.S.
Recommended Citation
Aldarweesh, Fatima M., "Mental health service utilization among Arab/Middle Eastern in the US: Structural disparities, digital access, and stigma-related barriers." (2025). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 4630.
Retrieved from https://ir.library.louisville.edu/etd/4630
