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Symposia

Technology/Digital Health

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

3 - (SYM 8) Predictors of Perceived Need Among Latine Community College Students with Mental Health Symptoms

Friday, November 21, 2025
3:48 PM - 4:09 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,  
Abstract Body

Mental health disorders are rising among Latinx individuals, yet service use remains low (Cook et al., 2017; Terlizzi & Schiller, 2022), a trend also seen among community college (CC) students, where Latinxs are the second-largest demographic (Lipson et al., 2021, 2022). Sociocultural (e.g., stigma, treatment beliefs) and logistical barriers (e.g., service availability, affordability) influence their treatment decisions (Benuto et al., 2020; Cho et al., 2014; Gearing et al., 2023). Perceived need is the strongest predictor of service use among Latinx CC students (Saravia et al., 2025), aligning with models that position it as the first step in seeking care (Cauce et al., 2002; Andersen, 1995). However, research gaps remain—many studies lack clinical samples or underrepresent Latinx CC students, despite their 200% enrollment increase from 2005 to 2021 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2023). Given its impact on service utilization and the finite research, we examined predictors of perceived need in Latinx CC students endorsing mental health symptomatology.

This study analyzed the 2021–2022 Healthy Minds Study dataset, focusing on a subsample of 2,629 Latinx CC students with moderate to severe anxiety or depression from 95,860 total respondents. The sample was predominantly female (81.1%), with an average age of 24 years (SD = 7.31; range = 18–73). Multiple regression analysis identified academic impairment (b = 0.242), suicidal ideation (b = 0.0441), lifetime service use (b = 0.489), and stigma (b = -0.082) as significant predictors of perceived need, explaining 17.9% of the variance (R² = 0.179).

Academic impairment and suicidal ideation were positively associated with perceived need, while stigma had a negative association. Notably, those with prior service use reported lower perceived need. Moderation analyses found no gender or citizenship differences.

These findings highlight key factors shaping Latinx students’ perceived need for mental health services, emphasizing the need for targeted interventions to improve service utilization and retention.