Mental and Behavioral Health – African Americans

What is Mental and Behavioral Health?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make healthy choices. Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood. Behavioral health has more to do with the specific actions people take. It is about how people respond in various scenarios. Behavioral health can be influenced by an individual’s mental health.

How Does Mental and Behavioral Health Affect African American Populations?

• In 2020, suicide was the third leading cause of death, respectively, for blacks or African Americans, ages 15 to 24.¹
• The death rate from suicide for black or African American men was four times greater than for African American women, in 2018.
• The overall suicide rate for black or African Americans was 60 percent lower than that of the non-Hispanic white population, in 2018.
• Black females, grades 9-12, were 60 percent more likely to attempt suicide in 2019, as compared to non-Hispanic white females of the same age.
• Poverty level affects mental health status. Black or African Americans living below the poverty level, as compared to those over twice the poverty level, are twice as likely to report serious psychological distress.
• A report from the U.S. Surgeon General found that from 1980 – 1995, the suicide rate among African Americans ages 10 to 14 increased 233 percentage, as compared to 120 percent of non-Hispanic whites.²