Relational Help-Seeking Among Newlywed African American Couples

Mistrust of the medical community lies not only in the shadows of history but also in the shadows of present day. As a consequence of that mistrust, African Americans are not as likely to seek the help of clinicians when experiencing challenges in their marriages; they underutilize the clinical/therapy route (Nightingale in J Fam Psychother 30(3):221–244, 2019). When strife emerges, some couples do seek professional help and use therapy as a way to mitigate couple distress (Lebow in in J Marital Fam Ther 38(1):145–168, 2012); however, others, particularly African Americans, tend to seek help from God, religious leaders, or friends (Tulane in Marriage Fam Rev 47(5):289–310, 2011; Vaterlaus in Contemp Fam Ther 37(1):22–32, 2015). One study reported that less than 10% of African Americans in their sample sought therapy as a means of dealing with marital problems (Vaterlaus in Contemp Fam Ther 37(1):22–32, 2015). Although much is known about help-seeking behaviors, that research is largely centered around samples of White couples; relatively, little is known about help-seeking among marginalized married populations. We aim to fill this gap in the literature. This topic is important because relational distress is negatively associated with mental health and negatively associated with general well-being (Lakey in Psychol Rev 118(3):482–495, 2011). In 2016, over one million African Americans experienced depression, and only 6 out of 10 who met criteria for depression received treatment (for review, see Nguyen in J Affect Dis 253:1–7, 2019). Given the connections between relational distress and mental health, exploring what couples (particularly African American couples) do when they are experiencing relational strife is critical.