Identifying Barriers to Mental Health Service Utilization Among Heavy Drinking Community College Students

ABSTRACT

There are limited findings on mental health prevalence and service utilization rates among community college (CC) students. Utilizing a heavy drinking CC sample, the current study examined: 1) prevalence of mental health symptoms, 2) mental health service utilization and perceived unmet service need, and 3) barriers to service utilization. Participants were 142 CC students who were heavy alcohol users (70% female; 59% White) from three public CCs in the Pacific Northwest who were participating in a larger study designed to adapt a brief intervention for high-risk alcohol use. Findings of the current study revealed that 32% of CC students had a positive screen for depression; 25% had a positive screen for anxiety; a total of 28% received mental health services in the past 12 months; a total of 41% reported a perceived unmet need for mental health srvices at some point in the past 12 months (i.e., needing mental health services but not receiving it). Students with mental health symptoms reported more barriers to receiving services, and were more likely to not receive services due to cost, compared to students without mental health symptoms. There were differences in type of barrier as a function of alcohol use severity, although there was no difference in number of barriers. Campuses may benefit from understanding mental health service utilization barriers their students report and to effectively advertise the services offered. Training of student services personnel staff and faculty in screening for mental health or substance use may be a worthwhile and cost-effective endeavor.

Acknowledgments

Data collection and manuscript preparation were supported by National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) Grant R34AA023047. Manuscript preparation was also supported by NIAAA Grant F32AA025263. The content of this manuscript is solely the responsibility of the author(s) and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism or the National Institutes of Health. This manuscript has not been published elsewhere and has not been submitted simultaneously for publication elsewhere.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism [F32AA025263,R34AA023047];