Tiffany Williams Dissertation Proposal Defense, Tuesday, December 16, 2025 @ 11:00 am Central Time
December 16, 2025 @ 11:00 am - 12:00 pm
COMMITTEE CHAIR: Dr. Anne Lippert
TITLE: THE ROLE OF CULTURE, SERVICE AWARENESS, AND ACCESS TO SERVICES ON DECISIONS TO UTILIZE MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES IN THE UNITED STATES AND CARIBBEAN ISLANDS
ABSTRACT: Culture refers to social/behavioral norms, beliefs, customs, and traditions. Historically, African American and Caribbean populations have lower participation levels in Mental Health Services compared to other groups (Yorke et al., 2016). To expand modern societal knowledge on rationales for low participation rates in mental health care treatment among these demographic populations, researchers composed a mixed-methods scientific research study to explore the relationship between culture, service awareness, and access to services on the decisions to utilize mental health care services. In recent years, the demand for mental health services has steadily increased across the United States. Moreover, mental health care referrals among collegiate populations have drastically increased (Xiao, 2017). The current study focuses on college and university students in the United States and Caribbean islands. Participants in the study will engage in interviews and self-reported questionnaires. The impact of access to mental health services, cultural cognition, perception of receiving services, and individual reasoning for pursuing services will be explored.
Keywords: Culture, mental health, service access, treatment.
Location Online:
Zoom Link: https://pvpanther.zoom.us/j/99336992934?pwd=bqR02PfRkFROvc0uSMXfMsizSgJAdf.1
Meeting ID: 993 3699 2934
Passcode: 790306
