Abstract
Racial/ethnic disparities in counseling use and mental health-related stigma have been documented, but their relation to acculturation processes is less well known. Although some studies have examined the relationship between acculturation and mental health stigma, few studies have examined both other-focused and self-focused stigmas in relation to acculturation and counseling use. This pilot study examined (1) racial/ethnic differences in other-focused stigma (perceived public stigma and social network stigma) and self-focused stigma (self-stigma and personal stigma) among college students, (2) racial/ethnic differences in stigma based on mainstream and heritage acculturation, and (3) the association of race/ethnicity, stigma, and acculturation with counseling use. The sample consisted of 414 college students (17% male, 83% female), of which 11.1% identified as African American, 64.3% as European American, 16.4% as Hispanic American, and 8.2% as Asian American. Identifying as Hispanic or African American, and lower mainstream acculturation were associated with higher levels of perceived public stigma. Low heritage and mainstream acculturation were positively associated with personal stigma. Finally, high personal stigma, high self-stigma, low social network stigma, low mainstream acculturation, and identifying as Asian American or Hispanic were associated with lower counseling use. Our findings reaffirm the importance of acculturation and help disentangle the relationship between race/ethnicity and acculturation in various types of mental health stigma and counseling use.