Date of Award

2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

MA in Psychology

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Elizabeth Brondolo

Second Advisor

Dana Chesney

Abstract

There is a significant relationship between discrimination and mental health (Assari et al., 2017; Brondolo et al., 2009; Paradies et al., 2015). Although there are a high number of individuals who experience discrimination, there are limited data reported on effective ways to lessen the effect that discrimination and racism can have on overall mental health (Brondolo et al., 2009). Although cultural competency is crucial in psychotherapy and helps create an understanding between the mental health provider and client (Sue et al., 1992), previous research has shown that there is still a need for mental health providers to learn more about cultural competency and to understand how to successfully apply it during visits. Psychoeducational tools may facilitate these conversations (Mollen & Ridley, 2021; Chan et al., 2018). We created a psychoeducational booklet that facilitates communication about mental health and discrimination for providers and clients. This study examines the efficacy of this psychoeducational booklet with undergraduate students. The outcomes evaluated include an analysis of self-efficacy managing depression that showed a significant increase from pre-test to post-test, p< .001; a repeated measures regression analysis examining self-efficacy and discrimination that indicated self-efficacy discussing discrimination improving from pre-test to post-test, p<.001; and significant reductions in distress discussing discrimination-related issues, p<.001. Keywords: Discrimination, Racism, Psychoeducation, Inter-racial anxiety, Depression, Mental health stigmatization, Education, Stigmas, Ethnic groups.

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