Colonial Mentality and Mental Health Help-Seeking Attitudes: Testing a Mediation Model on Filipino Americans

Filipino Americans hold a unique history as the Philippines was the only Asian country that was colonized by the United States. Despite this and the fact that they are the third-largest subgroup of Asian Americans and the fourth-largest immigrant population, there are few studies on Filipino Americans and even fewer consider the impact of colonization on their mental health, such as colonial mentality (CM). Filipino Americans rank as one of the least likely to seek help, utilizing mental health services less than the general U.S. population and less than other Asian American groups. Juxtaposing this with their relatively high rates of psychological distress, depression, and schizophrenia, it sets up a dangerous scenario where a significant population in the U.S. suffering from high rates of mental illness and not utilizing mental health services is left ignored. This study looked at CM, enculturation, and acculturation as possible predictors of mental health help-seeking attitudes such as psychological openness, indifference to stigma, and help-seeking propensity. Using multiple regression (N = 218), only help-seeking propensity was significantly predicted by CM above and beyond acculturation and enculturation. However, mediation analysis showed that acculturation mediates the effect of CM on psychological openness while interpersonal norms, a domain of enculturation, mediates the effect of CM on help-seeking propensity and indifference to stigma. We discuss the importance of looking into culturally specific and sociohistorical factors that may impact help-seeking, underscoring how unique histories call for tailored approaches to mental health. What is the public significance of this article? This study provides a tentative explanation as to why high levels of colonial mentality (CM), a form of internalized oppression, may prevent Filipino Americans from seeking help for their mental health issues: CM may (a) lower endorsement of some European Americans values related to openness to acknowledge one's problems and (b) increase adherence to some Filipino interpersonal norms related to lower willingness to seek professional help and higher discomfort in being "found out" that they have mental health problems.