Mental Health Literacy as a Predictor of Health-Seeking Behaviors Among Latina College Students

Abstract

Latina college students experience significant disparities in both mental and physical health, driven by structural, cultural, and access-related factors, as well as gaps in mental health literacy; however, little research has examined health-seeking behaviors, everyday actions that support well-being, during the transition to independent health management in college. Additionally, research has yet to adequately examine how mental health literacy influences engagement in health-seeking behaviors during this developmental period marked by increasing responsibility for symptom monitoring, interpreting health needs, and health-related decision-making. Accordingly, the present study examined current levels of mental health literacy and health-seeking behaviors among Latina college students, tested whether mental health literacy predicts participation in health-seeking behaviors, and evaluated the roles of cultural factors as both independent predictors and moderators of this relationship. Guided by the Health Literacy Skills Framework and a Multiracial Feminist Framework, this study assessed mental health literacy, health-seeking behaviors, and cultural moderators including familismo, a cultural value emphasizing family interconnectedness and prioritization of family needs in decision-making. Participants (N = 144) were Latina-identifying undergraduate students enrolled at ECU that completed an online quantitative survey. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize levels of mental health literacy and health-seeking behaviors in the sample, and multiple regression analyses were used to examine main and moderation effects. Results indicated that mental health literacy was a significant positive predictor of health-seeking behaviors (b = 0.185, p = .024), with the covariate-adjusted model accounting for 16.8% of the variance in health-seeking behaviors (R² = .168). Cultural factors were also examined as independent predictors of health-seeking behaviors, and familismo significantly moderated this relationship, such that the interaction between mental health literacy and familismo was statistically significant (b = -0.18, 95% CI [-0.34, -0.02], p < .05), with inclusion of the interaction term significantly improving model fit (ΔR² = .031, ΔF = 4.80, p = .030). Probing the interaction using Johnson-Neyman and simple slopes analyses revealed that mental health literacy was a significant positive predictor of health-seeking behaviors at lower (-1 SD; b = 0.41, p < .001) and mean levels of familismo (b = 0.23, p = .01), but not at higher levels of familismo (+1 SD; b = 0.05, p = .64). Overall, findings highlight the importance of conceptualizing health-seeking behavior as a developmentally and culturally embedded process rather than focusing solely on formal care engagement. Accordingly, higher mental health literacy may facilitate clearer mental and physical symptom recognition and more effective navigation of available health-related resources. Even in the presence of high mental health literacy, health-seeking behaviors and decisions may be negotiated through family priorities, underscoring the need for culturally responsive, developmentally informed, and family-centered clinical care when working with Latina college students.