Introduction African American adolescents within urban communities always hit barriers when seeking menrtal health treatment. Sometimes African American adolescents may misunderstand a mental health condition and avoid talking about it. They might also have difficulty recognizing the signs and symptoms of mental health conditions and that leads to underestimating the effects and impact of mental health conditions. African American adolescents may also be reluctant to discuss mental health issues and seek treatment because of the shame and stigma associated with it. Barriers for treatment like embarrassment, lack of knowledge, lack of resources and funds, and also fear plays major roles in the lives of adolescents when they seek mental health …show more content…
Historically, African Americans have been and continue to be negatively affected by prejudice and discrimination in the healthcare system. Social workers in urban communities are currently advocating for equal treatment of their clients from all levels of government and ensuring that their individuals served are allotted equal opportunities. A Social worker's duty is to assist troubled populations that are in need and this is definitely an issue that needs to be investigated and alleviated from the urban community. The reason for this study is to thoroughly examine the history, effects, and types of barriers that African American adolescents face when seeking mental health services in schools, communities, and …show more content…
(R.M. Bains, 2014) The purpose of the study was to understand the experiences of African American adolescents in dealing with mental health conditions and what led to or hindered their access to mental health services. (R.M. Bains, 2014) A metasynthesis of six qualitative studies was conducted using the meta-ethnographic approach by Noblit and Hare. They found four reciprocal themes illuminating the experiences of African American adolescents with mental health issues were revealed: uncertainty and soul searching, strength of the inner circle, shame and reluctance, belief in the system. The number of African American adolescents with mental health disorders and the lack of adequate utilization of mental health services are of great concern. The criteria for participation in the study included that the majority of the sample (over 75%) was African American adolescents, the studies were not focused on the experiences of a specific mental illness (R.M. Bains, 2014). Most adolescents were sensitive to the negative implications they perceived in the study and did not want anyone to know they were seeking mental health services. The next article determined that adolescents using health care had: 1) perceptions of barriers to obtaining health services, 2) views on how to overcome the barriers and 3) views on how to create an adolescent-
Kennedy, B. R., Mathis, C. C., & Woods, A. K. (2007)? African Americans and their distrust of health care system: healthcare for diverse populations. Journal of Cultural Diversity, 14(2), 56-60.
The elimination of disparities in mental health care among ethnic, racial and underprivileged populations, specifically minorities remains a challenge amongst mental health care workers and medical professionals. Many minority areas are more impoverished, rely on government assistance and have a higher incidence of sexually transmitted diseases, chronic diseases, and injuries compare to any other ethnicity. In recent studies there are strategies to help eliminate disparities in mental health care, such as improving health care access, quality, offering diverse mental health workforce, providers, and patient education. These are just several strategies that can help assist in disparities. The goal is to reduce or eliminate racial, ethnic and socioeconomic health inequalities that affect minorities.
The introduction to this article begins with a personal narrative about his own experiences as an African American teenage
Unfortunately, when released from the detention centers these same individuals are untreated and rarely seek mental health treatments when released into the community, they also tend to display diminished cognitive reasoning and readjustment difficulties amongst their family, peers, and the community (Samuel, 2015). Since, most young black males are often categorized to be aggressive and disorderly they are often misdiagnosed, and likely to receive evasive services, placements and diagnoses of having and mental health issue. Because of this factor mistrust has been recognized as a major obstacle to the utilization of specialty mental health services among racial and ethnic minority populations. Cultural mistrust is explained by African Americans, as the constant mistreatment related to being Black or part of an ethnic group, that Whites cannot be trusted. Mental health doctors have a great challenge when it comes to reassuring young Black males to seek professional help for their suppressed mental health issues. There are three barriers that mental health doctors face: getting the Black male into counseling or mental health treatment, engaging them in the therapeutic process, and keeping them engaged long enough to achieve therapeutic goals. Trust of the mental health professional who will more than likely be white will definitely be the most vital factor to accomplishing each of these objectives (McCoy, Munson, Snowden & McMillen,
According to research, African American women face tougher hardships when dealing with depression. This is a research proposal examining how African American females rate their levels of depression. The National Institute of Mental Health defined depression as “a mental illness when someone experiences sadness and a lack of interest in everyday social activities.” The DBSA (Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance) stated that at least 14.8 million American adults, or about 6.7 percent of the U.S. population age 18 and older, suffer from some form of depression. Depression is sometimes used to describe those that are sad from time to time with or without “valid” explanation as well as those who often feel lonely or neglected. No matter what
According to Kramer (2002), Asian Americans are the fastest growing racial group in the United States; growing from fewer than 1 million in 1960 to 7.2 million in 1990. But despite this ongoing rapid progression, Asian Americans have the lowest rate of utilization of any professional mental health related services than the general United States population (Tung 2011). To increase the utilization of mental health services among the Asian American community, the most hindering barriers that exist preventing Asian Americans in general from seeking out these services must be identified and explored. In spite of the fact that Asian Americans are viewed as the “model minority”, with high academic achievements and few mental/behavioral problems, studies
Samaan, R. A. (2000). The Influences of Race, Ethnicity, and Poverty on the Mental Health of Children. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 100-110.
All minority groups experience discrimination which leads to increased levels of stress in those individuals. As the level of stress goes up, so does the risk for several health complications including those related to mental health. Wells, Klap, Koike, and Sherbourne (2001) conducted a study examining the disparities in mental health care among black, Hispanic, and white Americans. Of those Hispanics in the study (n=617), 16.6% of them had a probable mental disorder compared to 13.4% of whites (n=7,299). Hispanics also had a higher incidence of substance abuse problems with 9% of those surveyed meeting criteria compared to 7.6% of whites. Hispanics also had the least reported perceived need for treatment with 10.4% for mental health and only 1.3% for substance abuse. A clinician treating Antonio should keep in mind that he has a higher likelihood of having a mental illness or substance use disorder than a white client as well as the fact that if he does meet the criteria for either, that he probably does not believe he needs
Psychological distress, acculturation, and help-seeking attitudes were all measured using specific indexes and scales set for the point of interest. The hypotheses of this research was that even within the African American community, one would find disparities in the treatment of psychological issues – just based on the method of acculturation used, and their views on society. There are 4 basic modes of acculturation: traditionalist, assimilationist, integrationist, and marginalist. It is thought that the integrationist acculturation strategy is the best for optimizing and maximizing well-being. Although there is not a difference in the number of African Americans that have mental health problems when compared to European-Americans, the percentage of those who seek professional mental health services due to emotional distress is representatively lower. The rate at which African Americans receive psychological help services is half as much as that of European Americans – there is a need for an explanation of that statistic. The goal of this paper is to determine the reasoning behind the help-seeking disparities in African Americans and the field of psychological health. In order to make health services fair, we must first understand the reasoning behind why or why not one would seek out professional help in the first place. Understanding ethno cultural attitudes and other cultural variables will allow the health care field to better relate and help all people more uniformly and to the best of their needs.
Williams, D. R., & Jackson, P. (2014, April 1). Health Affairs. Social Sources Of Racial Disparities In Health. Retrieved April 29, 2014, from http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/24/2/325.short
Teenage Depression. Everywhere you look these two words appear together as one, in newspapers and magazines, as well as in scholarly reports. Teenage depression is one of today's "hot topics" this among other teenage mental health problems, has been brought to the forefront of public consciousness in recent years after several incidents involving school shootings (CQ 595). The environment that teens grow up in today is less supportive and more demanding than it was twenty years ago. Not only are the numbers of depressed teens rising, but children are also being diagnosed at younger and younger ages. Studies have found that, "There is an estimated 1.5-3 million American children and adolescents who suffer from depression, a condition unrecognized in children until about 20 years ago" (CQR 595). This increase in depression is due to social factors that teenagers have to deal with everyday. A recent study found that, "About five percent of teenagers have major depression at any one time. Depression can be very impairing, not only for the affected teen, but also for his or her family-and too often, if not addressed, depression can lead to substance abuse or more tragic events" (NAMI.org). Gender roles and other societal factors including the pressures on girls to look and act a certain way, the pressures on boys to suppress their emotions and put on a tough front and the pressures on both sexes to do well in school and succeed, all contribute to depression in teens today. Depression is a growing problem which crosses gender lines and one that needs to be dealt with with more than just medication.
In recent years racial disparities in health status have received increasing attention. The relationship between race, poverty, and health is complex. Something to consider is that people suffering from mental illness and members of minority racial populations are disproportionately concentrated in high-poverty areas.(Chun-Chung Chow) Disparities in health status in these areas are believed to reflect a lack of access to care because of an absence of insurance coverage, a tendency to attribute certain health concerns to religious and culturally sanctioned belief systems, and a shortage of culturally compatible health care providers. (Chun-Chung Chow) Because of the lesser access to medical treatments Blacks and Hispanics ...
In our culture, money, status, and social power all play a part in how individuals think that others perceive them. There is growing evidence that shows the link between socioeconomic status and unhealthy psychological outcomes in mental health. When looking at higher levels of socioeconomic status for youth it shows a more positive and healthy psychological outcome for youth and their mental health. Studies have shown that there are higher rates of attempted suicide, cigarette smoking and engaging in episodic heavy drinking (“Pardon Our Interruption”). Other studies have shown that lower levels of socioeconomic status have been linked to emotional and behavioral difficulties, like anxiety, depression, attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder and conduct disorders (“Pardon Our
The main issue that children face during this stage is self-identification. Adolescents are making the transition to adulthood and trying to figure out exactly who they are. Children during this time, often experience an identity crisis as they explore many different beliefs and value systems in the search for self-identity (Woolfolk, 2013, p.102). Societal forces, such as race, sex and class, also play an important role in self-identification, especially in regards to African American youth. Erikson believed that the search for identity encompassed not only how an individual viewed him or herself but also how they were viewed by society (Brittian 2012). African Americans, between the ages of 12 and 18, grapple with the same issues all adolescents experience, such as physical changes and the desire for autonomy. However, African American adolescents also deal with racial prejudice and the role that it plays in shaping their self-perception. According to Brittian (2012), the way that African Americans handle issues of race, rather problematic or constructive, has a major impact on the formation of their self-identity. Identity is the focal point of the adolescence stage and when children can’t decide who they are or their place in society, they become hampered by an identity
Concepts we discussed in both my Social Work and African American Studies classes such as white flight, housing discrimination, lack of school funding, and lack of access to adequate health care were reinforced when I began my practicum senior year at a local community mental health organization. The agency served a client population that was over 90% black. At practicum, I applied my skills learned in class such as communication, empathy, motivational interviewing, and strengths based perspective to form a bond with clients and ensure that services the agency delivered were what the clients needed. I combined my Social Work Research course with my practicum and designed a client satisfaction survey that assessed client involvement, satisfaction, and desired changes. These changes were presented to the board to help guide changes in activities and policies for the next fiscal