Disparities in mental health help-seeking and treatment utilization by race, ethnicity, and severity of mental health symptoms among college students

OBJECTIVE: Disparities in mental health care among racial/ethnic minority college students persist. Severity of mental health symptoms may explain these disparities. PARTICIPANTS: = 43,633 (weighted) college students from the Healthy Minds Study (2022-2023) with mental health symptoms. METHODS: Mixed effects multinomial regression models investigated effects of race/ethnicity and severe mental health symptoms on mental health help-seeking and treatment utilization. RESULTS: Students with severe symptoms were more likely to seek formal treatment modalities (aRRR range: 2.36-3.37; 95% CI range: 1.82-4.37) across all racial/ethnic groups. The impact of severe symptoms on seeking both counseling and medication was larger in racial/ethnic minority students (e.g., non-Hispanic Black with severe symptoms (aRRR: 3.37, 95% CI: 2.60-4.37)) than in non-Hispanic White students with severe symptoms (aRRR: 2.36, 95% CI: 2.19-2.56). CONCLUSION: Colleges should prioritize pathways to care for racial/ethnic minority students with severe symptoms to ensure timely care.