Pilot Testing a Narrative Psychoeducational Video to Reduce Stigma and Improve Mental Health Literacy and Help-Seeking Among Latinx Adults: Examining Gender Differences and Contextual Insights

Pilot Testing a Narrative Psychoeducational Video to Reduce Stigma and Improve Mental Health Literacy and Help-Seeking Among Latinx Adults: Examining Gender Differences and Contextual Insights | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Pilot Testing a Narrative Psychoeducational Video to Reduce Stigma and Improve Mental Health Literacy and Help-Seeking Among Latinx Adults: Examining Gender Differences and Contextual Insights Daniel Hernan Saravia, Yesenia Aguilar Silvan, Jonathan I. Martinez This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7444634/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 27 Feb, 2026 Read the published version in Community Mental Health Journal → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Despite similar rates of mental illness, non-Latinx Whites received care at higher rates compared to Latinxs (NIMH, 2024). Latinx adults report lower mental health literacy (MHL) and higher stigma compared to NLW, which can explain treatment disparities, as both are linked to lower service utilization (Benuto et al., 2019; Mendoza et al., 2015). Given how these factors influence service use, our study examined the effect of a culturally informed psychoeducational video intervention on increasing MHL and reducing stigma among a non-college-educated Latinx adult sample, and whether this relationship depended on gender. We also assessed whether these changes in MHL and stigma led to increased help-seeking intentions. Results revealed that the video successfully increased MHL among the full sample and, unexpectedly, increased perceived stigma among Latinx females. Changes in MHL and stigma did not result in increased help-seeking intentions. To better understand these findings, we conducted a qualitative analysis of two open-ended questions, which provided context for why the video was effective in increasing MHL and why it unexpectedly increased perceived stigma in females. Additionally, the qualitative results offered insights into other factors that might influence Latinx adults’ help-seeking intentions. These findings will guide the development of future psychoeducational videos tailored for a Latinx audience, potentially helping to improve access to and utilization of mental health services. Latinx Mental Health Stigma Mental Health Literacy Help-Seeking Intentions Service Use Barriers Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 27 Feb, 2026 Read the published version in Community Mental Health Journal → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. 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