Association between Knowledge about How to Search for Mental Health Information and Emotional Distress among Older Adults: The Moderating Role of Immigration Status

ABSTRACT

Mental health literacy (MHL) provides a framework to overcome barriers to service use and reduce mental health disparities through public education. Acquiring basic knowledge about mental health problems can guide subsequent help-seeking behavior. Improving knowledge about how to search for mental health information is a critical first step in improving MHL. In this study, we examined the association between knowledge about how to search for mental health information and emotional distress among older adults. We further examined the moderating role of immigration status in this association. A sample of 605 older adults participated in the study (N = 357 Native Israelis; N = 222 Immigrants from the Former Soviet Union). Participants completed self-report measures assessing MHL and emotional distress. Our findings show that Native Israelis reported significantly lower levels of emotional distress and higher levels of knowledge about how to search for mental health information compared to immigrants. Moreover, while among native older adults, increased knowledge about how to search for mental health information was associated with lower emotional distress, among immigrant seniors there was no significant association between these variables. Our findings suggest that differences among immigrant and native older adults can impact the effectiveness of the mental health knowledge that is accessed.

KEYWORDS:

• Mental health literacy
• older adults
• emotional distress
• immigration
• mental health disparities

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the Israeli National Institute for Health Policy and Health Services Research (2016/22 to Nakash and Hayat). The sponsor had no role in the study design or conduct of the study; in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of the data; or in the preparation or approval of the manuscript.

Conflict of Interest

None reported.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Israeli National Institute for Health Policy and Health Services Research [2016/22].