Theses and Dissertations from UMD
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Item Nonparticipation Issues Related to Passive Data Collection(2024) Breslin, Alexandra Marie Brown; Presser, Stanley; Antoun, Chris; Survey Methodology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)New passive data collection techniques on smartphones allow for the direct observation of a participant’s behavior and environment in place of self-reported information. However, such studies are not appealing to all people, especially those with higher security concerns. The current work explores the mechanisms that impact a sample member’s decision to participate in a passive data collection using three different online panels. The first study explores nonparticipation bias in a financial tracking study and finds evidence of bias in the self-reported measures of financial behaviors, and that prior experience with the research organization positively impacts a sample member’s decision to participate. Studies two and three employ deception studies (i.e., the passive data collections were presented as real rather than hypothetical, but no data was passively collected) in which respondents received experimentally varied invitations to participate in a smartphone-based passive data collection. The second study varies the type of data requested and the study topic to understand better how these study components interact. The findings suggest that the type of data requested impacts participation while the study topic does not. The second study utilized video messages presented to all sample members who chose not to participate. These videos asked the sample member to reconsider, varying whether or not they reiterated the data and security measures of the study from the initial invitation. The results suggest that offering a follow-up video increased participation. Finally, the third study experimentally varied the level of control the sample member would have over what data is shared with researchers during a passive data collection. The findings suggest that an offer of control may not increase participation in app-based passive data collection. The three studies suggest that sample members are more likely to participate in a survey when they have prior experience with such a request and may be converted to participate with a video message, but that the type of data requested greatly impacts the decision to participate. Future work should include replicating these studies with different requested data types and shifting to samples not drawn from online panels.Item Understanding the Unthinkable: A Comparative Analysis of Mass Shooters, Homicide Offenders, and Violent Extremists Using Criminological Theory(2024) Yanez, Yesenia A.; LaFree, Gary; Criminology and Criminal Justice; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)As mass shootings continue, the need for more theoretically driven solutions grows. Criminologists can offer tremendous insight, though they should be wary of applying existing theories to this relatively new phenomenon. In this dissertation, I explore how mass shootings fit into our understanding of crime and violence. I begin by describing mass shooter demographics and motives over time. I then compare mass shooters to homicide offenders and violent extremists. Focusing on social control and general strain variables, I find that mass shooters are significantly different than single-victim homicide offenders in terms of common correlates of crime. Mass shooters and violent extremists, on the other hand, show fewer differences and greater definitional overlap. Finally, I consider how mass shooting definitions shape our perception of mass shooters. Considering these results, I conclude that a mass shooter’s path to violence does not resemble that of a common homicide offender but rather one of a violent extremist. Future scholars can thus reimagine existing criminological theories to help explain mass shootings and provide solutions that are more appropriate.Item INTERACTIONS OF SOCIAL EXPERIENCE, ALCOHOL SENSITIVITY, AND THE SEROTONERGIC SYSTEM(2024) Ho, Ta-wen; Herberholz, Jens; Neuroscience and Cognitive Science; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Social isolation has been shown to correlate with increased alcohol consumption in various animal species. In humans, a decreased sensitivity to acute alcohol is correlated with future alcohol dependence and addiction. A plausible explanation for this correlation is that alcohol sensitivity decreases after isolation; however, our understanding of the mechanistic interaction between social isolation and sensitivity to acute alcohol is still in its infancy. The serotonergic system is one promising candidate that could be involved in this interaction because of its wide range of behavioral and physiological effects, especially those related to social experiences. In my dissertation, I investigated the roles of the serotonergic (5-HT) system with three separate aims: In the first aim, I measured the effects of several 5-HT agents (neurotoxin, reuptake blocker, and receptor agonist/antagonists) in freely-behaving crayfish that were communally housed (COMs) or individually isolated (ISOs) prior to ethanol (EtOH) exposure. I found that 5-HT is important in regulating the social differences in EtOH sensitivity, and 5-HT2βPRO receptors emerged as candidates to produce this interaction between 5-HT and EtOH. My results from this aim suggest that these receptors are downregulated in isolated crayfish, leading to reduced behavioral EtOH sensitivity. The second aim employed single-cell neurophysiology and pharmacology in the lateral giant (LG) circuit of reduced ex vivo crayfish preparations to investigate the cellular-molecular mechanisms that underlie the interaction between 5-HT and specific EtOH receptor targets. I found that the LG neurons are stimulated by EtOH, and social differences in EtOH sensitivity between COMs and ISOs are paralleled at the level of these single neurons. Specifically, my results suggest that social isolation causes downregulation of 5-HT2βPRO receptors and 5-HT1αPRO receptors on the LG neurons and upregulation of these receptors subtypes in GABAergic neurons that send feed-forward inhibition onto the LG neurons. In my third aim, I developed a wearable, miniature, cyclic voltammetry device that is capable of detecting (injected) monoamine neurotransmitters (including 5-HT) in freely-behaving crayfish. With improved sensor sensitivity in the future, this will allow measurements of 5-HT release patterns in crayfish with different social histories, including during EtOH exposure. Together, the results from my dissertation will inform work in other model systems and improve our understanding of the interactions between social experience, the 5-HT system, and alcohol use.Item Framing Climate Change: The Impact of Repeated Exposure to Self- and Social-framing Messages on Climate Change Outcomes and Public Segmentation in China(2024) Ma, Xin; Liu, Brooke; Communication; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Background and Purpose. Climate change is an urgent global issue, and China, as the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, plays a crucial role in the global response to this challenge (Reuters, 2024; Wang et al., 2016; Xu et al., 2022). Despite increased media coverage and public discussion (Huan, 2024; Pan et al., 2021; Xu et al., 2022; Zeng, 2022), skepticism and negative attitudes toward climate change persist among certain Chinese individuals (Chan et al., 2023; Jia & Luo, 2023; Pan et al., 2022, 2023). This dissertation aims to contribute to developing effective climate change communication strategies in China by examining the effects of repeated self- and social-framing messages and using the Situational Theory of Problem Solving (STOPS) model for public segmentation (Florence et al., 2022; Kim & Grunig, 2011; Tao et al., 2020).Theoretical Frameworks. This dissertation draws from the construal level theory of psychological distance to understand self- and social-framing (Liberman & Trope, 2003; Loy & Spence, 2020; Ma et al., 2023), the inverted U-shaped model to examine the impact of repeated exposures (Berlyne, 1970; Cacioppo & Petty, 1979; Lu et al., 2015; Lu, 2022), and the STOPS model to investigate how the effects of self- and social-framing may vary across different public segments and the potential for proportional changes in public segments after longitudinal repeated exposure (Grunig, 1997; Kim, 2006; Kim & Grunig, 2011). Methods. This dissertation employs a two-part study design. The first part is a pilot study designed to validate the manipulation of climate change messages framed as either self- or social-focused, adapted from leading Chinese news outlets. The main study, formatted as a longitudinal between-subjects experiment, consists of six separate exposures spaced three days apart. In the first session, seven hundred and fifty Chinese residents over 18 years old were randomly assigned to one of three conditions, either containing self- or social-framing messages or a mix of both framing messages six times at three-day intervals. Three hundred and thirty-three participants completed all six sessions and are included in the final sample. Results. The results reveal that repeated exposure to climate change messages enhances their persuasive effects on climate change outcomes, including attitudes, beliefs, and private and public pro-environmental intentions. The overall trends are increasing and do not follow the inverted U-shaped model’s predicted pattern of initial growth followed by a decline. After six exposures, the mixed-framing condition slightly outperforms self- and social-framing conditions, indicating the potential benefits of diversified communication strategies for repeated messaging. The results also reveal that situational activity levels in climate change significantly predict positive and negative communicative behaviors and outcomes, with more engaged publics showing stronger climate change outcomes and positive communicative actions (Grunig, 1997; Kim & Grunig, 2011). Results further suggest that six exposures can shift public segmentation, making more individuals more active in climate change issues (Hine et al., 2014; Leiserowitz et al., 2021; Metag & Schäfer, 2018). Theoretical and Practical Implications. Theoretically, the findings do not support the inverted U-shaped model with theoretical explanations (Berlyne, 1970; Cacioppo & Petty, 1979; Lu et al., 2015; Lu, 2022). Also, this dissertation extends the message convergence theory (Anthon & Sellnow, 2016; Liu et al., 2020) by demonstrating the effectiveness of mixed-framing strategies in repeated exposures. It also addresses research gaps in framing combination (Chen et al., 2020; Florence et al., 2022) and provides new insights into the effectiveness of repeated communication strategies in public segmentation using the STOPS model (Grunig, 1997; Kim & Grunig, 2011). Practically, the findings of this dissertation offer guidance for developing repeated communication strategies, suggesting that journalists can leverage the power of repeated exposure and mixed-framing approaches to enhance the impact of climate change communication coverage. The study also highlights the potential for repeated message exposures to actively change public segment types, enabling journalists to design targeted strategies for shifting individuals from less engaged to more active publics in addressing climate change (Hine et al., 2014; Metag & Schäfer, 2018).Item Exploring Young Bi+ Women's Intersecting Mental Health and Sexual and Reproductive Health Experiences in Context: A Multi-Analytic Method Qualitative Study(2023) Robinson, Jennifer Lynn; Aparicio, Elizabeth M; Butler, James; Public and Community Health; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Young bi+ women report worse mental health and sexual and reproductive health (SRH) outcomes compared to gay, lesbian, and straight young adults. They experience intersecting threats to their health and well-being due to their sexuality, gender, and stage of development. There is a lack of research on bi+ women’s unique mental health and SRH experiences, and often bi+ women are overlooked due to bi-erasure and biphobia. Regressive policies related to LGBTQ+ and women’s rights, including increased restrictions to reproductive healthcare after the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision overturning abortion protections, further threaten bisexual women’s health. This dissertation used a multi-analytic method qualitative approach to explore the intersecting mental health and SRH experiences of young bisexual women in the current socio-political context. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted over Zoom with 16 young bi+ women from across the U.S. A narrative inquiry approach was used to explore young bi+ women’s mental health experiences and coping strategies. In addition, thematic analysis was used to investigate how young bi+ women describe their mental health as intersecting with their SRH in the current socio-political context. The study yielded rich and nuanced information about challenges these young bi+ women experienced throughout their lives that affected their mental health and SRH. Experiencing trauma had far-reaching negative effects on their mental health. Participants discussed the challenges of forming their identity within the social context, particularly as bi+ women in a society that often invalidates bisexual identities and subjugates women. They also discussed the joys along with difficulties of navigating young adulthood. They further described coping with challenges in a variety of adaptive (e.g., therapy, exercise) and maladaptive (e.g., substance use, self-injury) ways. They discussed relying on social support such as partners, friends, family, therapists, and teachers. Participants desired more support with sexuality-related issues, particularly in early adolescence. These bi+ women described their mental health and SRH as intertwined and discussed how bodily autonomy and agency were essential to their well-being. The socio-political context, including social norms, rhetoric, and federal- and state-level policies, influenced participants’ well-being. The current study shows that young bi+ women face unique threats to their mental health and SRH. Practice implications include improving access to affordable and LGBTQ+-affirming healthcare and developing interventions attuned to the needs of young bi+ women. Policies are needed that uphold the choice and agency of young women in their reproductive health decision-making. Future research should continue to explore the needs and experiences of young bi+ women concerning their mental health and SRH including demographic differences along with potential mechanisms resulting in poorer health.Item "Alexa, do I have an STD?": An Exploration of Young Adult Information Seeking Behaviors When Engaging With Home Assistant Devices About Sexually Transmitted Infections(2023) Siddiqui, Junaed Ahmad; Baur, Cynthia; Public and Community Health; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)BACKGROUND: Sexually transmitted diseases and infections continue to disproportionately affect young adults in the United States, with half of all new STIs annually occurring in young adults between the ages of 15 and 24. Advances in digital technologies have allowed for the facilitation of fast and discreet information about sexual health but remains understudied in the context of newer technologies. There is limited research on the effectiveness of Home Assistant Devices as channels to facilitate the information seeking process in young adults. To address this gap, this study explored whether Home Assistant Devices can facilitate the sexual health information seeking process in young adults between the ages of 18 and 26 who already use the internet to search for health information. The purpose of this dissertation was to explore the perspectives of young adults to understand the depth of their sexual health information needs and whether a user-centric designed HAD can be a suitable alternative for fulfilling those information needs. METHODS: Informed by the Theory of Motivated Information Management and Technology Acceptance Model, this qualitative study used the Design Thinking framework to understand young adults’ information needs and created a prototype voice skill to address that need. In-depth interviews were conducted virtually on Google Meet or Zoom and were recorded. This qualitative study occurred in three phases: in the first phase, 10 young adults were interviewed about their information seeking needs, current gaps, and how they thought Home Assistant Devices could fill that need. Insights from those interviews were then analyzed and used to create a prototype that would address sexual health information needs. The prototype was then tested with a new group of ten young adults, and their reactions to the prototype was recorded via interviews. In the third phase, the prototype was refined based on feedback from the previous group, and then re-tested with a new group of 10 young adults. In total, in depth interviews were conducted virtually with 30 young adults to understand information needs and create a prototype voice skill that could serve to facilitate the transfer of sexual health information in a convenient and relevant manner. Inductive thematic analysis was conducted to identify emergent themes. RESULTS: Overall, the sample (n=30) was 63% female, 43% White, with 53% having completed a bachelor’s degree, and 47% having owned a Home Assistant Device for over 12 months. The average age of the sample was 24 years old. After analyzing interviews through inductive thematic analysis in NVivo, four themes that were noted in the first phase as it related to Home Assistant Devices and information needs: the use of HADs as a means of convenience, preferring to use screen-based devices for research, tradeoffs between privacy and functionality, and the ability to emergency triage users for medical attention based on symptoms. Three main themes emerged in the second phase after reacting to the first version of the prototype, including anxiety and frustration when experiencing the unknown, pre-existing positive perceptions of Home Assistant Devices, and negative perceptions of Home Assistant Devices. In the third phase, two main themes emerged: a desire to share visuals to build comfort and bridge the information gap, and an ambivalence towards privacy. DISCUSSION: Privacy concerns remain prominent with Home Assistant Devices when engaging with them for information seeking purposes. These concerns are sometimes met with ambivalence by young adults, who were willing to trade some of their privacy for added features or functionality that could improve their user experience. Furthermore, challenges remain with voice search and screen-based devices are perceived to be easier to use. Lastly, the sexual health information seeking process is sensitive, and many young adults in this sample expressed wanting to have a more personalized experience that acknowledged their specific situations. To the author’s knowledge, this is the first study that explored the factors contributing to the sexual health information seeking process using Home Assistant Devices among young adults between the ages of 18 and 26. The results of this study have several implications for public health practice and research, especially as it relates to the Design Thinking approach for public health voice skill development, as well as addressing a new approach to providing sexual health information to young adults that may be more discreet and relevant to them. The findings from this study contribute to the emerging literature base on the use of Home Assistant Devices to address sensitive health information seeking behaviors.Item ISOLATING EFFECTS OF PERCEPTUAL ANALYSIS AND SOCIOCULTURAL CONTEXT ON CHILDREN’S COMPREHENSION OF TWO DIALECTS OF ENGLISH, AFRICAN AMERICAN ENGLISH AND GENERAL AMERICAN ENGLISH(2023) Erskine, Michelle E; Edwards, Jan; Huang, Yi Ting; Hearing and Speech Sciences; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)There is a long-standing gap in literacy achievement between African American and European American students (e.g., NAEP, 2019, 2022). A large body of research has examined different factors that continue to reinforce performance differences across students. One variable that has been a long-term interest to sociolinguists and applied scientists is children’s use of different dialects in the classroom. Many African American students speak African American English (AAE), a rule-governed, but socially stigmatized, dialect of English that differs in phonology, morphosyntax, and pragmatics from General American English (GAE), the dialect of classroom instruction. Empirical research on dialect variation and literacy achievement has demonstrated that linguistic differences between dialects make it more difficult to learn to read (Buhler et al., 2018; Charity et al., 2004; Gatlin & Wanzek, 2015; Washington et al., 2018, inter alia) and recently, more difficult to comprehend spoken language (Byrd et al., 2022, Edwards et al., 2014; Erskine, 2022a; Johnson, 2005; de Villiers & Johnson, 2007; JM Terry, Hendrick, Evangelou, et al., 2010; JM Terry, Thomas, Jackson, et al., 2022). The prevailing explanation for these results has been the perceptual analysis hypothesis, a framework that asserts that linguistic differences across dialects creates challenges in mapping variable speech signals to listeners’ stored mental representations (Adank et al., 2009; Clopper, 2012; Clopper & Bradlow, 2008; Cristia et al., 2012). However, spoken language comprehension is more than perceptual analysis, requiring the integration of perceptual information with communicative intent and sociocultural information (speaker identity). To this end, it is proposed that the perceptual analysis hypothesis views dialect variation as another form of signal degradation. Simplifying dialect variation to a signal-mapping problem potentially limits our understanding of the contribution of dialect variation to spoken language comprehension. This dissertation proposes that research on spoken language comprehension should integrate frameworks that are more sensitive to the contributions of the sociocultural aspects of dialect variation, such as the role of linguistic and nonlinguistic cues that are associated with speakers of different dialects. This dissertation includes four experiments that use the visual world paradigm to explore the effects of dialect variation on spoken language comprehension among children between the ages of 3;0 to 11;11 years old (years;months) from two linguistic communities, European American speakers of GAE and African American speakers with varying degrees of exposure to AAE and GAE. Chapter 2 (Erskine [2022a]) investigates the effects of dialect variation in auditory-only contexts in two spoken word recognition tasks that vary in linguistic complexity: a) word recognition in simple phrases and b) word recognition in sentences that vary in semantic predictability. Chapter 3 [Erskine (2022b)] examine the effects of visual and auditory speaker identity cues on dialect variation on literal semantic comprehension (i.e., word recognition in semantically facilitating sentences). Lastly, Chapter 4 [Erskine (2022c)] examines the effects of visual and auditory speaker identity cues on children’s comprehension of different dialects in a task that evaluates pragmatic inferencing (i.e., scalar implicature). Each of the studies investigate the validity of the perceptual analysis against sociolinguistcally informed hypotheses that account for the integration of linguistic and nonlinguistic speaker identity cues as adequate explanations for relationships that are observed between dialect variation and spoken language comprehension. Collectively, these studies address the question of how dialect variation impacts spoken language comprehension. This dissertation provides evidence that traditional explanations that focus on perceptual costs are limited in their ability to account for correlations typically reported between spoken language comprehension and dialect use. Additionally, it shows that school-age children rapidly integrate linguistic and nonlinguistic socioindexical cues in ways that meaningfully guide their comprehension of different speakers. The implication of these findings and future research directions are also addressed within.Item ESSAYS IN THE ECONOMICS OF HEALTH EDUCATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: EVIDENCE FROM VIETNAM(2022) Noh, Haeyun; Leonard, Kenneth L; Agricultural and Resource Economics; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Health education is widely implemented in school settings to prevent risky health behaviors of teenagers. The majority of the information-based programs target adolescents, when individuals’ health attitudes and behaviors are formed. In particular, schools are a vital place to implement a health education program to reach a large number of teenagers for years in a financially sustainable and logistically convenient way. However, a body of empirical studies finds limited effects on behavioral changes. My dissertation exploits randomized controlled trials in Vietnam to investigate a school-based health education intervention. In the first two chapters of my dissertation, I examine the effects of health education on adolescents’ health outcomes. The first chapter explores multidimensional health domains, including health behaviors and psychological health factors. In the second chapter, I focus on sexual and reproductive health education to assess to which extent health education affects teenagers by evaluating the effects on health knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. In health education programs, classroom observation is often employed to improve the quality of teaching. However, its implications on students’ learning in sensitive health topics are understudied. Against this background, in my third chapter, I investigate whether and how the presence of an observer affects students’ learning in sexual and reproductive health education.Item ASSESSING UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS’ JUDGEMENT OF SEXUAL ACTIVITY CONSENT SEEKING AND COERCIVE BEHAVIORS, AND ATTITUDE TOWARD ESTABLISHING SEXUAL CONSENT(2022) Abebe, Israel; Howard, Donna; Public and Community Health; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Sexual violence continues to be a serious public health problem, particularly among the college student population. This dissertation developed and implemented a web-based factorial vignette experiment to investigate vignette- and respondent-level factors that can explain undergraduate students’ evaluation of consent-seeking and verbal coercion in hypothetical vignette scenarios (N=420; Study 1). The vignettes embedded three factors with two levels each: level of intoxication (2 levels – sober/drunk), type of sexual relationship (2 levels – casual/committed), and, place of sexual encounter (2 levels – sexual initiator’s/partner’s residence). The respondent-level factors included gender identity, history of sexual victimization, attitude toward establishing consent, and endorsement of alcohol-involved consent scripts. Mixed models were used to assess the effects of vignette-level and respondent-level factors on students’ evaluations of consent-seeking and verbally coercive behaviors. The results showed significant differences in students’ evaluation of whether consent was sought based on level of intoxication, type of relationship, vignette scenarios, gender, consent attitude and endorsement of consent scripts. In addition, the study found significant differences in evaluations of coercive behaviors based on the vignette scenarios, consent attitude and acceptance of consent scripts. The dissertation also assessed the relationship between students’ endorsement of alcohol-involved sexual consent scripts and attitude toward establishing sexual consent, after accounting for covariates (Study 2). Hierarchical regression was used for this purpose. The study demonstrated that there is an inverse relationship between endorsement of consent scripts and consent attitude, after controlling for gender identity, relationship status, and campus athletic participation. There were also significant differences in consent attitude based on gender and relationship status. The findings from this dissertation emphasize the importance unpacking the elements of sexual consent definitions provided in many campus policies and understanding the cognitive and contextual factors that influence students’ interpretations of those elements. In addition, the findings support that there are broader issues such as acceptance of scripts that influence students’ consent attitudes. The implications include the need to target contextually relevant predictors of consent understanding and consent attitude in campus sexual violence prevention efforts.Item Understanding the informal help-seeking process of Korean emerging adults living in the U.S.: Influence of the family context(2022) Yoo, Jee Hun; Curbow, Barbara; Public and Community Health; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Korean Americans are a major Asian subgroup in the U.S., and epidemiological data demonstrate that rates of mental health symptoms are higher among Korean American emerging adults compared to other Asian American counterparts. Seeking and receiving appropriate support are important ways to cope with mental health burden, but there is a dearth of literature on how Asian Americans seek help from friends and family members. Available studies suggest that various sociocultural factors influence the informal help-seeking process among Asian Americans. As family context has a significant impact on children’s sociocultural development, examining such contextual factors can help understand some of the mechanisms and correlates of informal help-seeking. In this dissertation study, I explored the characteristics and associations among family communication patterns, relevant sociocultural factors (i.e., perceived parental support, emotional self-control, relational concerns, face loss concerns), and informal help-seeking intentions using a sample of 201 Korean American emerging adults (ages 18 – 29) drawn from an online survey. In paper 1, factor analysis showed that different help sources can be grouped into three domains (i.e., formal sources, family members, and partner and friends), with intention to seek help being the highest towards partner and friends, followed by family members and formal sources. Characteristics of higher acculturation were positively associated with help-seeking intention towards partner and friends. In paper 2, mediation analyses revealed that participants with parents fostering unrestrained communications perceived receiving more informational support from parents, which in turn was associated with higher intention to seek parental support. Participants with parents emphasizing conformity in beliefs and values perceived receiving less emotional and implicit support from parents, which in turn was associated with lower intention to seek parental support. The negative association between conformity orientation and perceived emotional support was only significant among participants identifying as American or bi-cultural. In paper 3, bivariate analyses showed that conversation orientation was positively associated with informal help-seeking intention, while conformity orientation, emotional self-control, relational concerns, and face loss concerns were negatively associated. Mediation analyses indicated that participants with parents stressing conformity in beliefs and values were more likely to endorse suppression of emotional expression and be concerned with potential loss of face from help-seeking, which in turn were associated with lower intention to seek help from family and friends. Findings from this dissertation study point to the utility of examining family contextual factors to better understand the informal help-seeking process among Korean American emerging adults. More studies on Asian Americans’ informal help-seeking are needed to find more culturally appropriate ways to address the mental health needs of this population.