Psychiatric Disorder, Impairment, and Service Use in Rural African American and White Youth

Abstract

In this rural sample, African American and white youth were equally likely to have psychiatric disorders, but African Americans were less likely to use specialty mental health services. School services provided care to the largest number of youths of both ethnic groups.

Prevalence of Psychiatric Disorders Among Children of Different Ethnic Origin

“…Moreover, ethnic differences in the prevalence of psychiatric disorders may not exist in childhood, but may emerge as children grow older, for instance because of the increasing impact of discrimination. This finding of similar prevalence rates across ethnicity is consistent with the results of comparable studies in the US (Costello et al, 1997;Angold et al, 2002), but in contrast to other studies (Bird, 1996;Crijnen, Achenbach, & Verhulst, 1997;Roberts et al, 1998). However, the latter studies compared prevalence estimates in different populations using different methodologies which, at least in part, may explain the observed differences.…”

“…For instance, Costello (1997) compared American Indian and White youth and reported that the overall prevalence of psychiatric disorders did not vary according to ethnicity (Costello, Farmer, Angold, Burns, & Erkanli, 1997). Similarly, no ethnic difference was observed in the overall prevalence of psychiatric disorders between African American and white youth (Angold et al, 2002). In Continental Europe, only three studies on the prevalence of problem behavior in children compared minority with majority ethnic groups, i.e.…”

Perceived Barriers to Mental Health Services Among Youths in Detention

“…10,39 African American and Hispanic detainees had received significantly fewer past services than non-Hispanic white youth, similar to patterns among youth in the general population and public sectors of care. [40][41][42][43][44] Compared with females, male detainees also had received significantly fewer past services.…”

Does Patient Race/Ethnicity Influence Physician Decision-Making for Diagnosis and Treatment of Childhood Disruptive Behavior Problems?

“…However, as multilevel models of health disparities emphasize, health service use is affected by many interacting factors. Race/ethnic disparities in mental health service use are likely attributed primarily to factors such as socioeconomic factors [8], family help-seeking attitudes and beliefs [37,38], and funding or policy level factors [39]. Emerging support for the significant impact of funding level factors comes from studies demonstrating that race/ethnic disparities in unmet need decreased when insurance coverage is expanded in programs such as SCHIP (given that race/ethnic minority children are over-represented in the populations affected by these expansions) [40].…”