A F R I C A N - A M E R I C A N Y O U T H
Besides schools, parents are also the ones deciding to engage in treatment services for their children. But for many African- American youth, parental mental illness, substance abuse and number of children in the home are barriers to receiving behavioral health services. Additionally, parent perceptions of what is typical or appropriate behavior may influence their willingness to seek treatment and affect service disparities. Minority parents may be less likely to label symptoms as problems that need professional care or to medicalize problems. Adding to the uncertainty of seeking diagnosis could be comorbidity. African- Americans and the minority adolescents in substance abuse treatment programs are more likely to have cooccurring mental health diagnoses (e.g. depression or traumatic stress), even when factoring in family substance abuse, juvenile justice involvement and single-parent households.
Disparities exist even past access to treatment and through treatment completion as well. Evidence from the Treatment Episodes Data Set (2001– 2004) of over 73,000 adolescents showed significantly lower treatment completion rates among African Americans (33.5%) and Latinos (39.4%) compared to non- Latino Whites (45.1%). African Americans also spent 50% less time in treatment (mean 8.4 weeks for African Americans vs. 16.3 weeks for non-Latino Whites). This could be due to family conflict, lack of transportation or lack of preferred treatment methods. Matching treatment with patients’ needs is critical to ensure successful follow through of treatment and reduce post- treatment substance use. In a study of 1147 students, AfricanAmerican and other minority students more often preferred individual treatment sessions for secondary prevention of alcohol abuse compared to their White peers. This suggests that for such a vulnerable
Matching treatment with patients’ needs is critical to ensure successful follow through of treatment and reduce post- treatment substance abuse. experiences with treatment programs, racism, the legal system and oppression may affect the type of treatment they are willing to receive and adhere to. population, it is important to provide them with a safe space for disclosure and settings that reduce the likelihood of racism or stigma. Their previous
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