Mental and Behavioral Health - African Americans

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make healthy choices. Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood. Behavioral health has more to do with the specific actions people take. It is about how people respond in various scenarios. Behavioral health can be influenced by an individual’s mental health.

How Does Mental and Behavioral Health Affect African American Populations?

In 2020, suicide was the third leading cause of death, respectively, for blacks or African Americans, ages 15 to 24.¹
The death rate from suicide for black or African American men was four times greater than for African American women, in 2018.
The overall suicide rate for black or African Americans was 60 percent lower than that of the non-Hispanic white population, in 2018.
Black females, grades 9-12, were 60 percent more likely to attempt suicide in 2019, as compared to non-Hispanic white females of the same age.
Poverty level affects mental health status. Black or African Americans living below the poverty level, as compared to those over twice the poverty level, are twice as likely to report serious psychological distress.
A report from the U.S. Surgeon General found that from 1980 - 1995, the suicide rate among African Americans ages 10 to 14 increased 233 percentage, as compared to 120 percent of non-Hispanic whites.²

MENTAL HEALTH STATUS

Serious psychological distress in the past year among adults 18 years of age and over, percentage, 2019
Non-Hispanic Black	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
11.9	12.7	0.9

Source: SAMHSA, 2022. Results from the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Mental Health Detailed Tables. Table 10.43B
https://www.samhsa.gov/data/report/2019-nsduh-detailed-tables [PDF | 10.22MB]

Serious psychological distress in the past 30 days among adults 18 years of age and over, percentage of poverty level, 2015-2016*
	Non-Hispanic Black	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
Below 100%	7.6	12.1	0.6
100% - less than 200%	3.9	7.6	0.5
200% - less than 400%	2.8	3.1	0.9

Source: CDC, 2021. Health United States, 2019. Table 46.
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus17.pdf [PDF | 10.22MB]

Percentage of population with feelings of sadness, hopelessness, worthlessness, or that everything is an effort, all or most of the time, among persons 18 years of age and over, 2018
	Non-Hispanic Black	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
Sadness	4.2	2.6	1.6
Hopelessness	1.8	2.2	0.8
Worthlessness	1.8	2.3	0.7
Everything is an effort	11.0	6.6	1.7

Source: CDC 2021. Summary Health Statistics: National Health Interview Survey: 2018. Table A-7.
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis/shs/tables.htm

Percentage of population with serious psychological distress among persons 18 years of age and over, 2018
	Non-Hispanic Black	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
Men	2.5	2.8	0.9
Women	4.7	4.8	1.0
Total	3.7	3.8	1.0

Source: CDC 2021. Summary Health Statistics: National Health Interview Survey: 2018. Table A-8.
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis/shs/tables.htm

DEATH RATES

Age-adjusted death rates for suicide, by sex, race, and Hispanic origin, 2019
	Non-Hispanic Black	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Black /Non-Hispanic White Ratio
Male	12.7	28.0	0.5
Female	2.9	7.7	0.4
Total	7.5	17.7	0.4

Source: CDC 2021. National Vital Statistics Report, Vol. 70, No. 8. Table 10.
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr70/nvsr70-08-508.pdf

Death rates for suicide, age, race, and Hispanic origin, 2018: Men
	Non-Hispanic Black Men	Non-Hispanic White Men	Non-Hispanic Black Men / Non-Hispanic White Men Ratio
15-24 years	17.3	27.3	0.6
25-44 years	19.5	35.8	0.5
45-64 years	11.6	39.5	0.3
65 years and over	8.9	38.2	0.2
All ages	12.2	28.6	0.4

Source: CDC, 2022. Health United States, 2019. Table 9.
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/2019/009-508.pdf [PDF | 10.22MB]

Death rates for suicide, age, race, and Hispanic origin, 2018: Women
	Non-Hispanic Black Women	Non-Hispanic White Women	Non-Hispanic Black Women / Non-Hispanic White Women Ratio
15-24 years	4.2	6.7	0.6
25-44 years	4.5	10.4	0.4
45-64 years	3.1	13.0	0.2
65 years and over	1.3	6.3	0.4
All ages	2.9	8.0	0.4

Source: CDC, 2021. Health United States, 2019. Table 9.
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/2019/009-508.pdf [PDF | 10.22MB]

ADOLESCENTS

Death rates for suicide: ages 15 - 19, 2020
	Non-Hispanic Black	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
Male	12.4	18.2	0.7
Female	4.7	5.1	0.9
Total	8.6	11.8	0.7

Source: CDC, 2022. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Web Based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS. https://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/index.html [Accessed 11/18/2022]

Suicidal ideation among students in grades 9–12, 2019 Percentage of students who seriously considered suicide
	Non-Hispanic Black	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
Men	10.7	13.8	0.8
Women	23.7	24.3	1.0
Total	16.9	19.1	0.9

Source: CDC 2022. High School Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data. https://nccd.cdc.gov/youthonline [Accessed 11/21/2022]

Suicidal ideation among students in grades 9–12, 2019 Percentage of students who attempted suicide
	Non-Hispanic Black	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
Men	8.5	6.4	1.3
Women	15.2	9.4	1.6
Total	11.8	7.9	1.5

Source: CDC 2022. High School Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data. [
https://nccd.cdc.gov/youthonline. [Accessed 11/21/2022]

ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE

*Percentage of adults age 18 and over who received mental health services in the past year, 2020**
Non-Hispanic Black	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
37.1	51.8	0.6

*For any mental illness

SAMHSA, 2022. Results from the 2020 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Mental Health Detailed Tables. Table 8.17B (REVISED) https://www.samhsa.gov/data/report/2020-nsduh-detailed-tables

*Percentage of adults age 18 and over who received prescription medications for mental health services, 2020**
Non-Hispanic Black	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
27.5	44.5	0.4

*Prescription for any mental illness

SAMHSA, 2022. Results from the 2020 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Mental Health Detailed Tables. Table 8.21B
https://www.samhsa.gov/data/report/2020-nsduh-detailed-tables

Percentage of adults age 18 and over with past year major depressive episode who received treatment for the depression, 2019
Non-Hispanic Black	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
59.6	70.2	0.8

SAMHSA, 2022. Results from the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Mental Health Detailed Tables. Table 8.39B
https://www.samhsa.gov/data/report/2019-nsduh-detailed-tables

¹ CDC. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS). [Accessed 11/21/2022]. http://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/index.html

² U.S. Surgeon General, 2001. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK44251

2/17/2023 3:58:00 PM

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