Culture as a Social Determinant of Mental and Behavioral Health: A Look at Culturally Shaped Beliefs and Their Impact on Help-Seeking Behaviors and Service Use Patterns of Black Americans with Depression

Abstract

Culturally shaped notions of health and illness have a strong impact on how individuals engage in help seeking and how they view service use when they are ill. The current study was designed to look more closely at the impact of culture, specifically cultural beliefs, on help seeking and service use for depression among black Americans. Through qualitative interviews with seventeen black men and women, the authors sought to identify culturally shaped beliefs that may be held by black communities and to understand their impact on participants' thoughts about depression and treatment as well as their attitudes about help seeking. Key themes around three culture and culturally shaped beliefs were extracted: (a) black people don't get depressed, (b) I don't trust the doctors and/or the treatment, and (c) you don't need a doctor—it'll go way—just pray. The impact of these culturally shaped beliefs was also discussed; their greatest impact was on how respondents thought about help for their depression and who they spoke with about their distress.