Although a considerable body of research has looked at factors underlying mental health help-seeking behaviors, many facets of this pathway have received only marginal attention, particularly for internalizing concerns in children. Moreover, caregivers and culture can exert a pronounced influence on family dynamics, conferring values and beliefs that can facilitate or inhibit help-seeking. In a two-group study of international (n = 20) and domestic (n = 20) families, we sought to determine whether parental and cultural factors could differentially predict children's tendency to disclose, withhold, or mask internalizing (i.e., anxiety and depression) symptoms. Caregivers completed a battery of measures while children completed self-report questionnaires and an interactive activity to assess disclosure propensity. Results indicate that parenting and attitudinal factors are not necessarily implicated in predicting children's decisions for both anxiety and depression, and irrespective of cultural background. However, among international families, children's inclination toward disclosure of anxiety-related concerns reflected significant cultural influences (Wilks' λ = .386, Chi-square = 15.230, df = 6, Canonical correlation = .729, p = .019). Caregiver acculturation in particular was found to account for 84.2% of the variance, with children of less acculturated parents being more likely to mask as opposed to disclose or withhold. / Master of Science / Although a considerable body of research has looked at factors underlying mental health helpseeking behaviors, many facets of this pathway have received only marginal attention, particularly for internalizing (i.e., anxiety and depression) concerns in children. Moreover, caregivers and culture can exert a pronounced influence on family dynamics, conferring values and beliefs that can facilitate or inhibit help-seeking (Cauce et al., 2002). In a two-group study of international (<i>n</i> = 20) and domestic (<i>n</i> = 20) families, we sought to determine whether parental and cultural factors could differentially predict children’s tendency to disclose, withhold, or mask internalizing symptoms. Caregivers and children completed self-report questionnaires while children also went through an interactive story-based activity to assess disclosure propensity. Results indicate that parental styles and caregiver attitudes are not necessarily implicated in predicting children’s decisions for both anxiety and depression, and irrespective of cultural background. However, among international families, children’s inclination toward disclosure of anxiety-related concerns reflected significant cultural influences (Wilks’λ = .386, Chi-square = 15.230, <i>df</i> = 6, Canonical correlation = .729, <i>p</i> = .019). Caregiver acculturation in particular was found to account for 84.2% of the variance, with children of less acculturated (i.e., those families lacking social ties to the dominant cultural norms following immigration) parents being more likely to mask as opposed to disclose or withhold. Implications for guiding outreach to culturally diverse children and their families are discussed.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/79947 |
| Date | 18 April 2017 |
| Creators | Salinas, Carlos Enrique |
| Contributors | Psychology, White, Susan W., Dunsmore, Julie C., Ollendick, Thomas H. |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, Text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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