African American Population
- African Americans make up 13.3% of the US population.
- African American communities across the US are culturally diverse, with immigrants from African nations, the Caribbean, Central America, and other countries.
- About 27% of African Americans live below the poverty level compared to about 10.8% of non-Hispanic whites.
- Approximately 30% of African American households are headed by a woman with no husband present, compared with about 9% of white households.
Health Challenges
- Approximately 11% of African Americans are not covered by health insurance, compared with about 7% for non-Hispanic whites.
- Death rate for African Americans is higher than whites for heart diseases, stroke, cancer, asthma, influenza and pneumonia, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, and homicide.
- CDC estimates that African Americans represented more than one-third (40% or 498,400 persons) of all people living with HIV and almost half (45%) of all persons with newly diagnosed infection in 2015.
Mental Health Status, Use of Services, and Disparities
- Rates of mental illnesses in African Americans are similar with those of the general population. However, disparities exist in regard to mental health care services. African Americans often receive poorer quality of care and lack access to culturally competent care.
- Only one-in-three African Americans who need mental health care receives it.
- Compared with non-Hispanic whites, African Americans with any mental illness have lower rates of any mental health service use including prescriptions medications and outpatient services, but higher use of inpatient services.
- The rate of illicit drug use among African Americans is slightly higher than the national average (12.4% vs 10.2%). Rate of alcohol use is slightly lower than the national average (44.2% vs 52.7%) including heavy drinking (4.5% vs 6.2%) and binge drinking (21.6% vs 23%). Rate of opioid overdose among African Americans (6.6%) is less than half of that for non-Hispanic whites (13.9%).
- Compared with whites, African Americans are:
- Less likely to receive guideline-consistent care
- Less frequently included in research
- More likely to use emergency rooms or primary care (rather than mental health specialists)
- Compared with the general population, African Americans are less likely to be offered either evidence-based medication therapy or psychotherapy.
- Compared with whites with the same symptoms, African Americans are more frequently diagnosed with schizophrenia and less frequently diagnosed with mood disorders. Differences in how African Americans express symptoms of emotional distress may contribute to misdiagnosis.
- Physician-patient communication differs for African Americans and whites. One study found that physicians were 23% more verbally dominant, and engaged in 33% less patient-centered communication with African American patients than with white patients.
- Black people with mental health conditions, particularly schizophrenia, bipolar disorders, and other psychoses are more likely to be incarcerated than people of other races.
Barriers to Care
Despite recent efforts to improve mental health services for African Americans and other minority groups, barriers remain regarding access to and quality of care. The barriers include:
- Stigma associated with mental illness
- Distrust of the health care system
- Lack of providers from diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds
- Lack of culturally competent providers
- Lack of insurance, underinsurance
The source for the above information is Division of Diversity and Health Equity of the American Psychiatric Association – Accessed 8.20.2024 –