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Shelby Stewart
Prof. Joy McDonald
English 101-05
October 28, 2016
Annotated Bibliography on Mental Illness in the African American Community
"African American Mental Health." : National Alliance on Mental Illness. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Oct.
2016.
http://www.nami.org/Find-Support/Diverse-Communities/African-Americans
This article was written by the Nation Alliance on Mental Illness and speaks about the
various topics relating to African Americans and their relationship with mental health.
The topics spoken about include the common mental health disorders amongst African
Americans, the lack of information and proper understanding on what mental health is,
why African Americans dont seek help, and other topics such as medication and
faith/spiritualitys impact on mental health. This relates to my topic because it covers a
variety of topics relating to African Americans view on mental illness and why it is not
something that is talked about in the African American community.

Mama, Scherezade K. et al. Psychosocial Mechanisms Linking the Social Environment to

Mental Health in African Americans. PLOS ONE PLoS ONE, vol. 11, no. 4, 2016.
This article was written by various authors who are considered scholars in their field
(psychology, behavioral sciences, etc.) and published by the Public Library of Science.
As the title suggests, the article is about how African Americans social factors can affect
their mental health. The article focuses around a study of 1,467 African American church
goers and if things like gender, age, education, weight, annual income, employment

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status, marital status, and number of children can affect mental health in African
Americans. This relates to my topic because African Americans tend to be on the shorter
end of the stick with these categories. Having a high rate of homelessness, being in
prison, and being in the foster care system are all factors for people having a higher risk
of a mental health disorder.
Mental Health in African Americans. U.S Department of Health and Human Services Office of
Minority Mental Health, http://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/omh/browse.aspx?lvl=4&lvlid=24.
This source from the U.S Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority
Mental Health gives general statistics on African American mental health and how it
compares to White people. The statistics given range from adults mental health status to
adolescents. The statistic that I believe to be relevant and important to my topic is
African Americans access to proper health care. Only approximately half of African
Americans receive prescription medications for mental health treatment counseling. This
goes back to the National Alliance on Mental Illnesss article and how it mentioned that
many African Americans dont recognize mental illness symptoms as an actual problem.
If people do not know what their issue is and if they dont have a way to fix that problem,
the outcome is never good.

Ward, Earlise C., and Doriane D. Besson. African American Men's Beliefs About Mental
Illness, Perceptions of Stigma, and Help-Seeking Barriers. African American Men's Beliefs
About Mental Illness, Perceptions of Stigma, and Help-Seeking Barriers, Sage Journals, 1 Apr.
2013.

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This journal explores how African American men feel towards mental health and the
stigmas in the community. Mental health in the African American community can be
quite stigmatized and it is generally believed that if you have a mental health disorder,
that it will get better without seeking proper professionals. This relates to the source
from the U.S Department of Health and Human Services and their statistical data
showing that African Americans are less likely to get help for their mental health
symptoms. I believe this relates to my topic because it just further proves and mental
health isnt something that is emphasized or taken seriously in the African American
community.

White, Ruth C. So What If I'm Crazy? The Huffington Post, New Harbinger, 8 Aug. 2011,
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/new-harbinger-publications-inc/so-what-if-imcrazy_b_921699.html.
This source is from Huffington Post written by Ruth C. White, a health coach and professor at
the University of Southern California. I believe this source is important to have because it comes
from someone who has a mental health disorder and is black. She speaks about dealing with the
idea that having a mental illness is a personal weakness and the perception of mental illness as a
whole in the African American community. While there is no problem with going to your
primary doctor, going to a psychologist/psychiatrist is out of the question. This shows how
African Americans view mental illness.