Citation

Hunt J, Sullivan G, Chavira DA, Stein MB, Craske MG, Golinelli D, Roy-Byrne PP, Sherbourne CD. J. Nerv. Ment. Dis. 2013; 201(3): 188-195.

Affiliation

University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Psychiatric Research Institute, Little Rock, AR 72205, USA. huntjustinb@uams.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

10.1097/NMD.0b013e3182845ad8

PMID

23407203

PMCID

PMC3653434

Abstract

Large racial disparities in the use of mental health care persist. Differences in treatment preferences could partially explain the differences in care between minority and nonminority populations. We compared beliefs about mental illness and treatment preferences between adult African-Americans, Hispanics, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and White Americans with diagnosed anxiety disorders. Measures of beliefs about mental illness and treatment were drawn from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication and from our previous work. There were no significant differences in beliefs between the African-Americans and the White Americans. The beliefs of the Hispanics and the Native Americans were most distinctive, but the differences were small in magnitude. Across race/ethnicity, the associations between beliefs and service use were generally weak and statistically insignificant. The differences in illness beliefs and treatment preferences do not fully explain the large, persistent racial disparities in mental health care. Other crucial barriers to quality care exist in our health care system and our society as a whole.

Language: en