African-Caribbean young people in the UK are more likely to experience mental health difficulties than white British young people. In particular, psychosis is more frequently diagnosed amongst African-Caribbean young men, compared to their white counterparts (e.g. Bhugra et al., 1997; King, Coker, Leavey, Hoare, & Johnson-Sabine, 1994). This is perhaps not surprising, given that these young people experience increased levels of risk factors associated with mental health problems, such as school exclusion, low socioeconomic status, and racial discrimination (e.g. Dalgard & Tambs, 1997; Lowe, 2006). For example, African-Caribbean children are six times more likely than white pupils to be excluded from schools (Social Exclusion Unit,(1998), and 70% of black and ethnic minority communities live in the most deprived areas of the UK (Social Exclusion Unit, 2002). Research also suggests that African-Caribbean boys are one of the most challenging groups to engage in mental health or indeed any health related services. Adolescent boys are less likely than girls to express emotions and to seek help from either within their social network or from professionals (Boldero & Fallon, 1995; Rickwood, Deane, Wilson, & Ciarrochi, 2005). There is also evidence that boys are more likely to deny or minimise mental health difficulties or express them externally through violence and substance abuse (e.g. Timlin-Scalera, Ponterotto, Blumberg, & Jackson, 2003). Compared to white adolescents, African-Caribbean adolescents in the UK are less likely to access mental health services, and tend to perceive such services as stigmatising, unhelpful and unable to relate to both youth and African-Caribbean cultures (e.g. Street, Stapelkamp, Taylor, Malek, & Kurtz, 2005) African-Caribbean adolescent boys often delay seeking help until difficulties reach crisis point; this is reflected in a greater proportion of African-Caribbean young men entering mental health services through compulsory admission to hospitals or via forensic routes (Keating, Robertson, McCulloch, & Francis, 2002).
Posted on: Mon, 16 Sep 2013 21:47:59 +0000
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