Mental health care treatment seeking among African Americans and Caribbean Blacks: what is the role of religiosity/spirituality?

Objectives: As adults increase in age, the likelihood for using mental health care services decrease. Underutilization, expecially among racial/ethnic minorities such as African American and Caribbean Blacks, can result in a decrease in quality of life, as well as significant costs to families, employers, and health systems. Methods: The study explored the differences in relationships between mental health care usage and strength of religious/spiritual beliefs between African American and Caribbean Black older adults (54 years or older) and adults (18–53 years) using data from the National Survey of American Life (NSAL). Descriptive statistics and logistic regression analyses were conducted using Stata version 13.1. Results: Subjective ratings about the strength of religious/spiritual beliefs (OR = 1.26; 95 CI: 0.99, 1.61), age (OR = 0.62; 95 CI: 0.48, 0.81), and sex (OR = 1.59; 95 CI: 1.25, 2.02) were significantly associated with the odds of seeking mental health care. Additionally, persons living in the South were less likely to seek mental health care services (OR = 0.47; 95 CI: 0.37, 0.60). Conclusion: Strong religious/spiritual beliefs may promote mental health care usage. Future studies should examine the strength of religious/spiritual beliefs on mental health care usage among different demographic groups.