Mental Health Disparities Among African American Youth

Introduction

African American youth continue to face significant disparities with regard to mental health challenges. Black American youth are less likely to receive mental health treatment compared to white adolescents. According to Lindsey et al. (2012), this unwillingness to provide treatment is usually not due to financial reasons, but rather due to the patient's race. Black Americans with mental health challenges often receive negative perceptions from providers, and the mental health problems they experience can cause them to stigmatize themselves (Lindsey et al., 2012). Wallace (2012) suggests that when African American youth do receive treatment, their mental health disorders are often diagnosed incorrectly or misdiagnosed, undertreated, or mistreated.

Apart from receiving minimal attention in regard to their mental health, African American youth are also less likely to utilize available mental health resources. According to Planey et al. (2019), this underutilization is especially concerning given the high prevalence of behavioral and mental health challenges among African American adolescents. Findings from the National Comorbidity Survey — Adolescent Supplement indicate that almost half of Black American participants had experienced a mental health problem before the age of eighteen. Despite this prevalence, only one quarter of Black American youths receive treatment when needed. Planey et al. (2019) found that Black American youths with major depressive disorder were less likely to visit a mental health unit or speak with a mental health professional compared to their white counterparts.

Beyond the disparities that African Americans encounter in mental health facilities, youths who are underserved in mental health services are also likely to be discriminated against in schools. Green et al. (2020) found that while most schools do provide mental health services to students, African American youths sometimes receive those services in separate settings from their white peers. Some schools also tie mental health services to certain negative outcomes such as trauma-informed practices (Joseph et al., 2020). Students of color face unique trauma experiences that expose them to externalizing behaviors, which can result in exclusion from school and increased risk of academic underperformance, future incarceration, fractured relationships, crime, and mental health strain (Joseph et al., 2020). The psychological well-being of youth of color is substantially affected by these trauma experiences.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the mental health disparities that African American youth experience in order to address those disparities and improve the psychological well-being and academic performance of Black youths. The study also includes some facilitators to seeking mental health services among African American youths, but primarily focuses on disparities. Findings from this research will help reinforce the need to eliminate barriers associated with access to mental health services among African American youths, and enhanced access to those services is likely to result in better academic outcomes.

Method

Search Strategy

This study utilized a systematic review approach to locate relevant research studies related to the disparities that African American youths with mental health problems experience owing to their race. The databases used to search for articles were PubMed, EMBRACE, and CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health). Key words used were: mental health, disparities, youth, and African American. Boolean operators were also used to extract the studies included — for example: disparities or barriers, and mental health or mental illnesses or mental disorders, and African American or Black American or people of color, and youth or adolescent. The search was limited to articles published between 2012 and 2020.

Inclusion Criteria

Journal articles selected for this study had to meet certain inclusion criteria. First, articles had to report on disparities related to seeking or receiving mental health services among African Americans. Second, articles had to report specifically on Black American youths who were 18 years of age or below. Third, articles had to report on the barriers that prevent African American youths from seeking treatment in outpatient mental health service systems. Articles also had to report on the experiences of the youths themselves, as well as those of their families and caregivers. All articles chosen were written in English.