A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF MENTAL HEALTH CARE UTILIZATION BETWEEN FOREIGN-BORN ADULTS AND U.S.-BORN ADULTS

This secondary data analysis of 4,341 adults examined and compared factors associated with mental health service utilization between U.S.-born adults and foreign-born adults. Logistic regression was used to investigate how participants’ mental health care use was associated with (a) predisposing factors, (b) enabling resources, and (c) perceived mental health needs. Two patterns of mental health care utilization were identified based on adults’ nativity statuses in our study. The findings show that the likelihood of foreign-born adults’ mental health care use associates positively with education, public health insurance coverage, and depression, but such likelihood associated negatively with Asian ethnicity and male gender; compared to the likelihood of U.S.-born adults’ mental health care use associates positively with education, perceived general mental health condition, depression, and drug abuse, but such likelihood associated negatively with age. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.