Psychological Help-Seeking among Latin American Immigrants in Canada: Testing a Culturally-Expanded Model of the Theory of Reasoned Action Using Path Analysis

The current study investigated the psychosocial and cultural predictors of psychological help-seeking based on the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA: Ajzen and Fishbein 1980) in a sample of 223 adult Latin American immigrants living in Canada. Using path analysis, the results provided empirical support for the TRA, as both help-seeking attitudes and subjective norms were found to influence participants' help-seeking intentions. Moreover, the re-specified culturally-expanded model showed a good fit to the data and revealed the direct and indirect effects that bi-directional acculturation (Latino and Canadian Cultural orientations), familism, and collective coping had on help-seeking intentions. The results point to the integral roles familism and subjective norms of social referents (e.g., parents, siblings) play in the help-seeking decision process among Latin Americans. Limitations, future research directions and clinical implications are considered and discussed.