Outside the cuckoo's nest: investigating the reasons behind African male engineering students' under-utilization of mental health services
Year: 2010
Type: dissertation
Abstract: ABSTRACT \nIt has been found that the under-utilization of mental health services in South Africa \nis particularly concentrated among young, African males. This population group is \nalso significantly at risk for suicide due to their exposure to stressors said to be related \nto the development of psychological disorder. Therefore, exploration into their \nreason(s) for this under-utilization, as well as the identification of their preferred \nalternate treatments and/or coping mechanisms, is crucial for future efforts to improve \nmental health care in South Africa. This study thus endeavoured to investigate these \nissues among a group of young, African males. \nThe sample comprised eight African males between the ages of 18 to 21 years of age. \nThe participants were first year Engineering students at the University of the \nWitwatersrand. Individual interviews were conducted with each participant according \nto a semi-structured interview schedule which was developed and piloted by the \nresearcher. A thematic content analysis was employed to uncover these reasons, \nalternate treatments and coping mechanisms. \nThe results illustrate that the alleged barriers to seeking professional psychological \ntreatment in South Africa for young, African males include strong beliefs in an \nAfrican cultural ideology; beliefs supporting hegemonic male gender roles; the \naccumulative beliefs of an African male gender role; mental illness stigma; negative \nindirect contact via stigmatising media representations of mental illness; and the \ndifficulty discerning between normal distress and abnormal psychological disorders. \nThere also emerged discrepancies between the help-seeking pathways the participants \nwould recommend for themselves and those that they would suggest for other people. \nFurthermore, the participants provided examples of alternate treatments which are \nused more often and are more preferable as modes of treatment for African males. \nHowever, the limited number of alternate treatments and the excessive reliance on \nnegative coping mechanisms highlight the importance of the greater need for \nappropriate, relevant mental health services for young, African males in this country.
Author: Tanya Samouilhan
Language: English
Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2275876376