The Role of Enculturation on the Help-Seeking Attitudes Among Filipino Americans in Guam

Abstract

The present study examined the association between enculturation and mental health help-seeking attitudes and the mediation of self-stigma on this association among Filipino American college students in Guam. A total of 110 self-identified Filipino American students in a public university completed an online survey, including questionnaires to assess enculturation, mental health help-seeking attitudes, and self-stigma. As hypothesized, enculturation was negatively associated with mental health help-seeking attitudes, and this association was fully mediated by self-stigma, above and beyond the contributions of covariates, such as age, socioeconomic status, generational status, gender, English fluency, and mental health problems. In other words, higher levels of enculturation were associated with greater levels of self-stigma, which in turn led to lower levels of positive help-seeking attitudes. Clinical and counseling implications for mental health help-seeking among Filipino Americans in Guam or Pacific islands are discussed.