The relationship between access to mental health resources and use of preferred effective mental health treatment.

Abstract

This study examined whether variables related to unequal access to mental health resources (including Black and Latinx racial-ethnic group membership, lower education level, and lower number of community-level treatment providers, and facilities) were associated with current mental health treatment use; and, whether these variables moderated the likelihood that individuals would receive their preferred effective treatment. In a preregistered (osf.io/z28wr) study, 5626 individuals completed a mental health history form and measures of implicit and explicit beliefs about the effectiveness of therapy versus medication. Individuals with more (vs. less) education were more likely to report current treatment use. Individuals who were Black/Latinx (vs. non-Latinx White) or who lived in a community with fewer (vs. more) providers sometimes had a lower probability of accessing preferred effective treatment, though results varied across implicit and explicit measures. Findings highlight the need to increase access to mental health resources among marginalized groups.