Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Apr;9(2):505-518.
doi: 10.1007/s40615-021-00981-1. Epub 2021 Mar 8.

Risk, Protective, and Associated Factors of Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms and Campus Health Services Utilization Among Black Men on a College Campus

Kofoworola D A Williams  1 , Amy E Adkins  2 , Sally I-Chun Kuo  2 , Jessica G LaRose  3 , Shawn O Utsey  4 , Jeanine P D Guidry  5 ; Spit for Science Working Group; Danielle Dick  2 , Kellie E Carlyle  3
Collaborators, Affiliations

Risk, Protective, and Associated Factors of Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms and Campus Health Services Utilization Among Black Men on a College Campus

Kofoworola D A Williams et al. J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 2022 Apr.

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study is to analyze relationships among social and environmental determinants serving as risk, protective, and important covariate factors for mental health risk and help-seeking among Black men on a college campus.

Methods: A secondary data analysis was conducted utilizing an ongoing, campus-wide survey at a large, urban, public university. Measures included depressive and anxiety symptoms; campus service utilization; risk factors (e.g., financial status); protective factors (social support/religiosity); and additional covariates (substance use/GPA). Multiple linear regressions were conducted to examine relationships between these factors, symptoms and help-seeking.

Results: Data is included for 681 students. Findings indicated that stressful life events were associated with higher levels of anxiety symptoms (B = 0.39, p < 0.001) and depressive symptoms (B = 0.33, p = 0.013). Cannabis use (B = 1.14, p = .020) was also associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms. We found that financial status (B = 0.21, p = 0.041) was positively associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms and endorsement of religiosity was associated with lower levels anxiety (B = - 0.23, p = 0.019) and depressive symptoms (B = - 0.32, p = 0.035). Religiosity predicted lower utilization of campus health services.

Conclusions: The key findings indicated that Black men's mental health is negatively influenced by stressful live events and cannabis use. As religiosity was associated with lower levels of symptoms and utilization, it may be beneficial to assess this in future work. Further research is needed to address and improve mental health and help-seeking among these men.

Keywords: Anxiety and depression; Black/African American men; Campus service utilization; College; Emerging adulthood; Risk factors.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of interest/Competing interests

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report.

References

    1. Arnett JJ, Žukauskiene R, Sugimura K. The new life stage of emerging adulthood at ages 18–29 years: Implications for mental health. The Lancet Psychiatry. 2014. Dec 1;1(7):569–76. - PubMed
    1. Eskin M, Sun JM, Abuidhail J, Yoshimasu K, Kujan O, Janghorbani M, Flood C, Carta MG, Tran US, Mechri A, Hamdan M. Suicidal behavior and psychological distress in university students: a 12-nation study. Archives of Suicide Research. 2016. Jul 2;20(3):369–88. - PubMed
    1. Arnett JJ, Tanner JL, editors. Emerging adults in America: Coming of age in the 21st century. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association; 2006.
    1. Saleh D, Camart N, Romo L. Predictors of stress in college students. Frontiers in psychology. 2017. Jan 25;8:19. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Pisarik CT, Rowell PC, Thompson LK. A phenomenological study of career anxiety among college students. The Career Development Quarterly. 2017. Dec;65(4):339–52.

Publication types