The Relationships Between Perceived Discrimination and Utilization of Mental Health Services Among African Americans and Caribbean Blacks

Although all ethnic/racial groups underutilize mental health services, only about one-third of African Americans and Caribbean Blacks in need utilize mental health services. An extensive literature review led us to examine if an association between perceived discrimination and mental health utilizat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of immigrant and minority health 2019-12, Vol.21 (6), p.1241-1247
Main Authors: Evans, Na’Tasha, Sheu, Jiunn-Jye
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
African Americans
African Americans - psychology
African Americans - statistics & numerical data
Black people
Comparative Law
Demographic variables
Demographics
Discrimination
Educational Status
Ethnic groups
Female
Health services
Health services utilization
Help seeking behavior
Humans
International & Foreign Law
Literature reviews
Male
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Mental health
Mental Health and Substance Use
Mental health services
Mental Health Services - statistics & numerical data
Middle Aged
Minority & ethnic groups
Original Paper
Patient Acceptance of Health Care - statistics & numerical data
Polls & surveys
Private International Law
Public Health
Racial groups
Racism - psychology
Racism - statistics & numerical data
Sociodemographics
Sociology
Statistical analysis
Utilization
West Indies - epidemiology
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Summary:Although all ethnic/racial groups underutilize mental health services, only about one-third of African Americans and Caribbean Blacks in need utilize mental health services. An extensive literature review led us to examine if an association between perceived discrimination and mental health utilization exists. The National Survey of American Life 2001–2003 nationally representative dataset was analyzed. Variables including utilization of mental health services, perceived discrimination, and socio-demographic variables were assessed for their relationships. The study found that each of the following predictors statistically significant: being male, being employed, having household income higher than 100,000, perceiving no discrimination, being African American, or being Caribbean Black are less likely to utilize mental health services than their counterparts. This study contributes to the emerging body of evidence demonstrating that perceived discrimination has a strong connection with the utilization of mental health services.
ISSN:1557-1912
1557-1920
DOI:10.1007/s10903-018-0836-0