Joji Timmy, Mapaling Curwyn
Community Psychosocial Research (COMPRES) Entity, North-West University, Mahikeng, South Africa.
Department of Psychology, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Front Sociol. 2024 Sep 25;9:1265353. doi: 10.3389/fsoc.2024.1265353. eCollection 2024.
International literature has documented significant underutilisation of mental health services among Indian immigrants. This study aimed to identify facilitators and barriers to mental health help-seeking among Indian immigrant youth in South Africa by evaluating their personal and lived experiences.
A qualitative study with a phenomenological design was conducted to understand the lived experiences of Indian immigrant youth regarding mental health help-seeking. Nine participants were recruited through purposive sampling from Gauteng. Data collection was performed through online interviews exploring participants' lived experiences. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data.
Five facilitator subthemes were identified: encouragement to seek help for mental health difficulties, social media and mass media influence, university and school environments, availability and awareness of resources, and open conversations about mental health. Four barrier subthemes emerged: individual perspectives on mental health, lack of access to resources, parental factors discouraging help-seeking, and community factors discouraging help-seeking.
An improved understanding of these barriers and facilitators may allow other Indian immigrant youth to better manage their help-seeking processes while increasing awareness about similar experiences within the community.
国际文献记载了印度移民中精神卫生服务利用不足的显著情况。本研究旨在通过评估印度移民青年在南非的个人经历和生活体验，确定他们寻求心理健康帮助的促进因素和障碍。
采用现象学设计的定性研究，以了解印度移民青年在寻求心理健康帮助方面的生活经历。通过目的抽样从豪登省招募了9名参与者。通过在线访谈收集数据，探讨参与者的生活经历。采用主题分析法对数据进行分析。
确定了五个促进因素子主题：鼓励为心理健康问题寻求帮助、社交媒体和大众媒体的影响、大学和学校环境、资源的可获得性和认知度，以及关于心理健康的公开对话。出现了四个障碍子主题：个人对心理健康的看法、资源获取不足、父母因素阻碍寻求帮助，以及社区因素阻碍寻求帮助。
对这些障碍和促进因素的更好理解可能会使其他印度移民青年更好地管理他们的求助过程，同时提高社区内对类似经历的认识。
