Abstract

Satisfaction with mental health treatment is an underrepresented area of research. There is a lack of published literature on student satisfaction with university mental health clinics despite an increased demand for treatment. This study identified individual factors such as gender, race, sexual orientation, and gender identity and determined which affected overall satisfaction with UNCA’s mental health center using the Mental Health Statistics Improvement Program (MHSIP) survey. It was predicted that racial minorities and LGBQIA participants would be less satisfied with the services they received. The MHSIP survey measures general satisfaction as well as satisfaction with the subscales; accessibility, quality and participation, outcomes and functioning, and social connectedness. Linear regression analysis was used to determine which of the subscales predicted overall satisfaction. It was predicted that quality and participation would be the biggest predictor of overall satisfaction given previous research. Using one- way ANOVAs, it was found that race had no effect on satisfaction. However, asexual participants were significantly less satisfied than heterosexual participants on general satisfaction measures, social connectedness, and outcomes and functioning. Agender/gender neutral participants reported significantly lower functioning and worse outcomes than cisgender participants. Additionally, they reported marginally significant differences compared to cisgender participants with lower scores on the social connectedness subscale. Outcomes and functioning were the largest predictor of overall satisfaction, with social connectedness being the second highest predictor. These results suggest that clinicians may need to be more aware of the needs of asexual and agender/gender neutral individuals and design treatment to provide additional support to these individuals given the daily stigma they face. Additionally, this research suggests that college students may value different aspects of treatment compared to the general adult population. Future research should examine the specific needs of college students.

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