Is the Black-White Mental Health Paradox Consistent Across Gender and Psychiatric Disorders?
Year: 2018
Type: article
Abstract: This study assessed whether the black-white mental health epidemiologic paradox (i.e., blacks' lower or similar rates of mental disorder relative to whites) extends across 12 lifetime and past-year psychiatric disorders and whether it varies with gender. We used data from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication and the National Survey of American Life, 2001-2003 (n = 4,584 black and 6,668 non-Hispanic white persons). Results showed overwhelming evidence of the paradox across lifetime and past-year disorders for women and men. In addition, blacks' mental health advantage over whites widened after adjusting for socioeconomic factors. There was one exception: Black women experienced higher risk of lifetime posttraumatic stress disorder compared with white women. These findings provide strong evidence for the "black-white mental health paradox"; however, additional research is needed to understand black women's heightened risk for posttraumatic stress disorder.
Source: American Journal of Epidemiology
DOI: 10.1093/aje/kwy224
Institutions: Vanderbilt University, University of California, Los Angeles
Language: English
Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
Funders: Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Vanderbilt University, National Institutes of Health, University of California, Los Angeles, National Institute on Aging, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, California Center for Population Research, University of California, Los Angeles, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
OpenAlex ID: W2898423841