Correlates of mental health literacy among first-generation Korean American immigrant women

ABSTRACT

Korean American immigrants historically have and continue to underutilize mental health services and treatment. A lower level of mental health literacy has been found to account for low rates of mental health services. This study examined mental health literacy and its correlates in a sample of first-generation Korean American immigrant women (N = 243) from a large metro area in the Southeast U.S. Those with higher English proficiency, social support, and lower depression levels were more likely to have higher mental health literacy levels. Strategies to increase mental health literacy among Korean American immigrant women are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Mental health literacy
• immigrant women
• language barrier
• depression
• social support

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

TThis work was jointly supported by the University of Georgia School of Social Work and the Owen’s Institute for Behavioral Research and the endowed research fund by the University of Alabama School of Social Work.