Outside the cuckoo's nest: investigating the reasons behind African male engineering students' under-utilization of mental health services

摘要

ABSTRACTudIt has been found that the under-utilization of mental health services in South Africaudis particularly concentrated among young, African males. This population group isudalso significantly at risk for suicide due to their exposure to stressors said to be relatedudto the development of psychological disorder. Therefore, exploration into theirudreason(s) for this under-utilization, as well as the identification of their preferredudalternate treatments and/or coping mechanisms, is crucial for future efforts to improveudmental health care in South Africa. This study thus endeavoured to investigate theseudissues among a group of young, African males.udThe sample comprised eight African males between the ages of 18 to 21 years of age.udThe participants were first year Engineering students at the University of theudWitwatersrand. Individual interviews were conducted with each participant accordingudto a semi-structured interview schedule which was developed and piloted by theudresearcher. A thematic content analysis was employed to uncover these reasons,udalternate treatments and coping mechanisms.udThe results illustrate that the alleged barriers to seeking professional psychologicaludtreatment in South Africa for young, African males include strong beliefs in anudAfrican cultural ideology; beliefs supporting hegemonic male gender roles; theudaccumulative beliefs of an African male gender role; mental illness stigma; negativeudindirect contact via stigmatising media representations of mental illness; and theuddifficulty discerning between normal distress and abnormal psychological disorders.udThere also emerged discrepancies between the help-seeking pathways the participantsudwould recommend for themselves and those that they would suggest for other people.udFurthermore, the participants provided examples of alternate treatments which areudused more often and are more preferable as modes of treatment for African males.udHowever, the limited number of alternate treatments and the excessive reliance onudnegative coping mechanisms highlight the importance of the greater need forudappropriate, relevant mental health services for young, African males in this country.