Overall, mental health conditions occur in Black and African American people at about the same or less frequency than in White Americans. However, the historical Black and African experience in America has and continues to be characterized by trauma and violence more often than for their White counterparts and impacts emotional and mental health of both youth and adults.
Alarming Facts
- Black and African American people living below poverty are twice as likely to report serious psychological distress than those living over 2x the poverty level.
- Adult Blacks and Africans are more likely to have feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and worthlessness than adult whites.
- Blacks and Africans are less likely than white people to die from suicide at all ages. However, Black, and African teenagers are more likely to attempt suicide than White teenagers (9.8 percent v. 6.1 percent).
- Sixteen percent (4.8 million) of Black and African American people reported having a mental illness, and 22.4 percent of those (1.1 million people) reported a serious mental illness over the past year.
- Serious mental illness (SMI) rose among all ages of Black and African American people between 2008 and 2018.
