Abstract
This research study attempts to identify cultural attitudes that impact the help-seeking behavior of Filipinos in the U.S. with a substance use disorder (SUD). Data was collected from self-identified service providers, family members, and former users who all reported to be knowledgeable about this issue. The findings show that the cultural attitude “bahala na” (come what may) likely removes a user’s sense of responsibility to seek help, and likely hinders the ability of support persons to provide the help that a user may need. These findings indicate that repurposing “bahala na” as a cultural concept may be a critical step to facilitate the help-seeking behavior of Filipino substance users. The data also implicates a potential role for social work in developing a culture-specific and multi-systemic approach to promote such repurposing in the Filipino community.