Ethnic differences in the perception of barriers to help-seeking

This paper explores differences among ethnic groups in their perception of barriers to help-seeking. Data for this analysis were drawn from a Hawaii statewide survey conducted in 1984. A total of 2503 adult residents were interviewed. Four ethnic groups were selected for study in this particular analysis: Caucasian, Filipino, Japanese and Native Hawaiian. The major dependent variable was the perception of barriers for two distinct types of problems: alcoholism and severe emotional problems. Caucasians perceived less barriers for both types of problems than the three minority ethnic groups. A logistic regression analysis found that this ethnic difference held when controlled for other demographic variables. Additional analyses were conducted to determine the types of barriers perceived for each problem by the ethnic groups.