Compared to European Americans, African Americans are half as likely to use mental health services (Lukachko, Myer & Hankerson, 2015). Also, African American women use services at lower rates compared to African American men (Neufeld, Harrison, Stewart, Hughes, 2008). Research suggests that several barriers hinder African American women from using mental health services, including stigma and cultural mistrust (Thurston & Phares 2008). Stigma and religious values have been identified as culturally relevant factors that may also impede African Americans' intentions to seek counseling (Anglin, Link & Phela, 2006). This study examines the associations among stigma, religiosity, and intention to seek services among African American women. Using a secondary dataset that included a sample of 167 U.S. African American women, we tested two hypotheses: (a) women who are high in religiosity will have increased stigma concerns compared to women with low religiosity; and (b) stigma will moderate the association between religiosity and intention to seek counseling for African American women. Results, limitations, and future directions will be discussed.
