African Americans Attitude and Access to Mental Health Utilization

Context of the problem.

African Americans, also known as Afro-Americans, are the American ethnic group with partial or total ancestry from any black ancestry in Africa. The term African American signifies the descendants of enslaved Africans in the United States, while some are also immigrants from Africa. African Americans compose the second-largest racial group and a third of the largest ethnic group in the United States. On the other hand, mental health is defined as behavioral, emotional, and cognitive well-being. It is generally about how people feel, behave, and thinklooking after mental health enables one to enjoy life. This can be achieved through balancing between life responsibilities, activities, and efforts to attain psychological resilience. Situations like anxiety, stress, and depression can affect an individuals mental health (Conner et al., 2010).

In general, mental health conditions occur in African Americans at less frequency than white Americans. However, African Americans experience in the United States to be characterized by violence and trauma more than their white counterparts. The historical oppression, violence, and dehumanization against African Americans recently evolved into racism (Eisenberg et al., 2007). Also, the mistrust of the medical systems affects the help-seeking behavior of African Americans. However, according to MHA screening data, the African American population that screen positive for depression self-identify to seek help more than any other general population. Regrettably, the African American providers known for providing adequate and appropriate care to African American health seekers form the minor portion of behavioral health providers workforce. As a result of the above factors, African Americans are likely to undergo persistent and chronic instead of episodic mental health conditions (Alvidrez, 1999).

Depression is one of the most widespread cognitive illnesses affecting more than 6 million men and 12 million women in the United States within one year. Also, according to the National Institute of Mental Health, African American women have a higher prevalence of mental health conditions at 13.1% compared to African American men at 7.0% (Conner et al., 2010). However, the low depression prevalence in African American men is unclear because, according to research, African American men have made less economic gains than African American women because low education and income are considered risk factors for depression. According to Lincoln, Watkins, Taylor, and Chatters report, African American men with income levels below the poverty line and formal education below 12 years indicated more symptoms of depression than men and women with higher income and formal education (Diala et al. 2000).

Studies examining African American attitudes towards mental illness and seeking services of mental health indicates mixed results. For instance, according to a seminal report on mental health: race, ethnicity, and culture, African Americans consider mental illness very stigmatizing, leading to a response in seeking treatment. Similarly, a qualitative study of beliefs and attitudes on mental health within older African American adults indicates that African Americans treat mental illness, specifically depression, as a weakness (Thompson et al., 2004).

However, contrary to the above findings, African Americans have indicated positive attitudes toward mental health services, though the positive attitudes do not translate to treatment seeking. For example, in one of the studies, African Americans were more likely to believe that health professionals could treat mental illness. Nonetheless, there was also a belief by African Americans that problems of mental health could improve on their own, thus, hindering the use of mental health services as a coping strategy. Also, according to Diala et al., African Americans have more positive attitudes in seeking mental health services than Caucasians. Equally, (Ward et al. 2009) established that African American women use religious coping with handling mental illness, though indicate the option of seeking professional healthcare services. Subsequently, around 90.4% of African Americans use religious coping in handling issues of mental health. According to a qualitative study by Conner et al. 2010, many African Americans use religious copings like prayer and establishing relationships with God to cope with depression (Diala et al., 2000).

Historically, the first African Americans entered the USA as slaves where they were forced to live in social and physical conditions where their health had very little or no value. As a result, African Americans suffered mental, social, and physical brutalization for more than 250 years (Alvidrez, 1999). Even at the end of slavery, African Americans could still not live healthy lives. They were subjected to systematic oppression and discrimination for another 150 years since abolishing slavery, and it continues to date. Accordingly, the harsh history...…barrier to seeking treatment among African Americans. Take, for instance, establishing how psychological opennss may impact decision-making in seeking professional mental health care. In addition, finding how psychological openness influences coping responses, continuity of professional treatment, and treatment adherence (Diala et al. 2000).

Significance of the Study

African Americans have made considerable strides in income, education, plus other indicators of social well-being. Their progress in social standing is recognized, proving their adaptive and resilient traditions of African American groups in the face of racism, discrimination, and slavery. These contributions have come from different African American groups and communities such as the Caribbean, Immigrants from Africa, and elsewhere. This research will therefore evaluate if the economic status of African Americans influences their access to mental health care. Thus, adopting appropriate policies to ensure universal access to mental health care is guaranteed to all citizens (Matthews et al. 2006).

Definition of Terms

Attitude is defined as a psychological feeling or state that informs an individual to respond or react negatively or positively towards a situation, individual, or object under consideration. Attitude to professional mental health care may rely on cultural belief, personal experience, age, income status, and social group to which an individual belongs may be negative, neutral, or positive (Eisenberg et al. 2007).

Gender is the state of being neuter, male, or female. Gender implies the social, behavioral, cultural, and psychological aspects of being a female or male (femininity or masculinity) (Matthews et al., 2006).

Racial Identity is defined as culturally and socially structured positioning adopted by members or individuals of a particular racial group. It is also considered as an individual perception of sharing a similar heritage with a particular group. Furthermore, racial Identity influences how individuals view themselves depending on their relationship with the said racial group (Thompson et al. 2004).

As used in this study, coping is defined as an individuals or groups continuously changing behavioral and cognitive efforts to manage particular internal or external demands or expectations that are considered insecure for a persons mental well-being (Diala et al., 2000).

African Americans are the American ethnic group with partial or total ancestry from any black ancestry in Africa. The term African American signifies the descendants of enslaved Africans in the United States, while some are also immigrants from Africa…