Racial/Ethnic and Gender Differences in Attitudes toward Psychotherapy on an Adolescent Inpatient Unit

ABSTRACT

While treatment engagement disparities are well-documented among adolescents of color in outpatient mental health, this has not been well researched in inpatient settings. The current study examines treatment engagement attitudes at an adolescent psychiatric inpatient unit (n = 379, White n = 254, Hispanic n = 83, and Black n = 42). Racial/ethnic group differences in readiness for psychotherapy at admission was examined using ANCOVAS. While there were no differences in overall readiness, Black males reported less interest in psychotherapy than White males and all females. The cultural context of patients must be considered in addressing difficulties in engagement.

Disclosure statement

The Brown University Institutional Review Board approved this chart review study.

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.