Icon Legend

This session is not in your schedule.

This session is in your schedule. Click again to remove it.

Presentation Icons

Recorded Session

Ticketed Session

332 Views

ViewAttendees 3

Symposia

Technology/Digital Health

Understanding and Addressing the Mental Health Needs of Latine Community College Students

2 - (SYM 8) Why Go to Therapy When We're here: Exploring the Role of Family on Latine Community College Students' Conceptualizations of Mental Health and Adoption of a Digital Mental Health Intervention

Friday, November 21, 2025

3:27 PM - 3:48 PM CST

Location: Celestin D&E, Level 3

Keywords: College Students, Mental Health Disparities, Evidence-Based Practice
Recommended Readings: Lipson, S. K., Phillips, M. V., Winquist, N., Eisenberg, D., & Lattie, E. G. (2021). Mental health conditions among community college students: A national study of prevalence and use of treatment services. Psychiatric services, 72(10), 1126-1133. http://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.202000437, Kodish, T., Schueller, S. M., & Lau, A. S. (2023). Barriers and strategies to improve digital mental health intervention uptake among college students of color: A modified Delphi study. Journal of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy, 33(1), 10-23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbct.2022.12.002, Wen, A., Wolitzky-Taylor, K., Gibbons, R. D., & Craske, M. (2023). A randomized controlled trial on using predictive algorithm to adapt level of psychological care for community college students: STAND triaging and adapting to level of care study protocol. Trials, 24(1), 508. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-023-07441-7, Lipson, S. K., Zhou, S., Abelson, S., Heinze, J., Jirsa, M., Morigney, J., Patterson, A., Singh, M., & Eisenberg, D. (2022). Trends in college student mental health and help-seeking by race/ethnicity: Findings from the national healthy minds study, 2013–2021. Journal of Affective Disorders, 306, 138-147. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2022.03.038,

Speaker(s)

VC

Vanessa Calderon, M.P.H., Ph.D. (she/her/hers)

Postdoctoral Research Scholar
UCLA Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Scienese
Los Angeles, CA, United States

Co-author(s)

DS

Daniel Saravia, M.A.

Doctoral Student
University of California, Los Angeles
Reseda, CA, United States
MW

Matthew Wong, B.A.

Staff Research Coordinator
UCLA
Los Angeles, CA, United States
AH

Alison Hamilton, PhD, MPH (she/her/hers)

Professor in Residence
UCLA
los Angeles, CA, United States
RG

Robert Gibbons, PhD

Blum-Reise professor of medicine
University of chicago
Chicago, IL, United States
KS

Katherine Song

Research Assistant
UCLA
Los angeles, CA, United States
MR

Marissa Ramirez, N/a

Research Assistant
UCLA
Los angeles, CA, United States
Michelle Craske, Ph.D.

Professor of Psychology, Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences
University of California Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA, United States
Kate Wolitzky-Taylor, Ph.D.

Associate Professor
UCLA School of Medicine
Los Angeles, CA, United States
Denise A. Chavira, Ph.D.

Professor
University of California Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA, United States

Abstract Body

Stigma is a common barrier to mental health care among U.S. Latine people (Gearing et al., 2022). Latine community college (CC) students’ unfavorable views of mental health treatment are often ascribed to cultural values and observed within families (McSpadden, 2021). Less is known about the ways in which families and cultural values contribute to treatment use in the context of digital mental health interventions, which have been found to be effective yet underutilized among Latine populations (Pratap et al., 2018). The present mixed-methods study aimed to explore family influences on mental health beliefs on the adoption of the STAND mental health intervention (Wen et al., 2023) among Latine CC students.

Latine CC students (N = 823) completed baseline self-report measures. Logistic regressions assessed self-stigma, familismo, a cultural value emphasizing family loyalty and trust, and their interaction on STAND uptake (i.e., completion of one or more treatment sessions/modules). Interviews were conducted with 10 STAND adopters and 6 non-adopters and analyzed using rapid qualitative analysis (Hamilton & Finley, 2019).

The logistic regression model was statistically significant, χ²(3) = 37.91, p < .001, explaining 6% of the variance of uptake, with significant main effects of self-stigma b = -.59, p < .05 and familismo b = -.67, p < .001, however the interaction was not statistically significant. The main effects of self-stigma were no longer significant when covariates (i.e., symptom severity, treatment tier assignment, gender) were added to the model.

STAND adopters described more favorable views of mental health in their families than non-adopters. However, both groups reported variable family attitudes towards mental health informed by exposure, lived experience, and migrant histories. Students whose families were supportive of mental health felt encouraged to seek help whereas those with less approving families sometimes chose to conceal their participation. Families often modeled resilience and self-reliance.

Families inform Latine CC students views towards mental health and help-seeking. Future research should examine the factors contributing to Latine families’ narratives of mental health and treatment including systemic barriers. Implementation of digital mental health interventions can aim to build trust and promote synergy between family and mental health treatment goals to improve uptake.