Examining the Behavioral Model of Health Service Use Among Latinx College Students Through a Socio-Cultural Lens: Implications for Mental Health Care

Despite an elevated risk of mental health concerns among Latinx college students, Latinx college students tend to underutilize mental health care (MHC). The behavioral model of health services utilization (BMHSU) has often been utilized to examine the individual, social, and environmental characteristics that predispose individuals to use or not use health services. However, the BMHSU has been criticized for failing to consider the influence of specific cultural factors. The purpose of this study was to develop and examine a cultural adaptation of the BMHSU more applicable to Latinxs. The total sample was comprised of 126 Latinx undergraduate students. Hierarchical linear regression indicated that the culturally informed model of MHC utilization more than doubled the predictive power of the BMHSU, accounting for 54% of the variance in MHC utilization, whereas the traditional BMHSU only accounted for 24% of the variance in MHC utilization. Analysis of individual predictors revealed that mental health stigma, familism and greater congruence between an individual’s and a professional’s evaluation of need drove the predictive power of the model, providing implications for mental health care. Specifically, findings emphasize the need to understand the context in which cultural factors might be protective or function as a risk factor among Latinxs.