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African-Americans and Comprehensive Service Use

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Abstract

This study examined African-Americans' use of comprehensive mental health services. 248 long-term users of self-help agencies (SHAs) were interviewed about their use of 37 different mental health services from various providers in a six-month period. Multiple regression analysis showed that the homeless and African-Americans were the high users in our sample. A subsequent MANOVA procedure suggested that this may be the result of African-Americans' increased use of SHAs. While African-Americans are low service users in traditional studies focusing on a narrow list of services and providers, this research argues for including SHAs in future studies of African-American service use.

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Theriot, M.T., Segal, S.P. & Cowsert, M.J. African-Americans and Comprehensive Service Use. Community Ment Health J 39, 225–237 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023390223253

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