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“You’D Be Depressed Too”: Treatment Acceptability Among Mothers Who Are Economically Disadvantaged, L. Kris Gowen

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

Although mothers who are economically disadvantaged have high rates of emotional distress, the rate of their use of mental health services is relatively low. What accounts for this underutilization of care? Although there is evidence that insurance coverage and access to care account for some of this disparity, barriers to mental health services reach beyond basic access issues. When considering why some choose to seek mental health care while others do not, it is important to consider treatment acceptability among low-income mothers.

Treatment acceptability is the extent to which recipients of care perceive that care as “reasonable, justified, fair, and …