Anxiety And Depression In AfroAmericans Essay Research

Anxiety And Depression In Afro-Americans Essay, Research Paper

Anxiety And Depression In Afro-Americans

A major cause of mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety

in individuals is stress. Defined stress is an internal response caused by the

application of a stressor or anything that requires coping behaviour. For

example the pressure of a job, supporting a family or getting an education are

stressors that can result in depression and anxiety. Individuals and groups that

have numerous resources or other coping mechanisms are better suited for coping

with stress than are those who lack such resources. As a result, social and

economic circumstances in North America suggest that the black and Latino

communities have a higher risk for developing mental disorders than does the

non-black make up of the United States. Hence this paper will attempt to

demonstrate how due to socio-economic differences such as money, racism and

increased exposure to violence, blacks have a greater chance to develop mental

disorders such as depression and anxiety.

Some definitions: Stress, Depression & Anxiety

Stress is everywhere in our lives and it can be found in two forms. The

life of Afro-Americans is filled with both eustress and distress, but it is the

high rate of distress due to socio-economic circumstances that are responsible

for higher rates of depression and anxiety amongst them.

Depression is an emotional state characterized by extreme sadness,

gloomy ruminations, feelings of worthlessness, loss of hope, and often

apprehension, while anxiety is a generalized feeling of fear and apprehension.

The number of reported cases combining both depression and anxiety with Afro-

Americans has dramatically increased since the civil rights movement, when

scientists began recording such causal relationships. In addition, statistics

show that the rate of violence demonstrates a positive relationship of mental

health disorders within the black community. Studies by Bell, Dixie-Bell and

Thompson show that Afro-Americans have a 36% higher chance of developing

depression than do non-blacks (Bell, Dixie-Bell, & Thompson, p.53). It is felt

that a portion of these results can be attributed to the high incidence of

violence and exposure within the black community.

Economic Distress

Poverty and unemployment are rampant in Afro-American communities in the

United States. Approximately 65% of the black community in the U.S. live in

poverty or are unemployed (Bell et al., p.53). In comparison to other ethnic

groups, this is the highest rate with the exception of the Latino community at

68.7%. The closest group above the blacks are the Chinese at 35%. Not only are

most blacks poor and unemployed but, the future does not look promising in terms

of job opportunities for Afro-Americans. This rampant spread of poverty within

the black community causes great distress within the family unit. Parents are

unable to provide for their children basic necessities for living, such as food

or proper shelter. In effect this distress causes individuals to demonstrate

extreme sadness, feelings of worthiness and loss of hope. Their great anxiety is

because there is, “no apparent way out of the situation.”(Friedman, p.77)

Socio-Cultural Distress

Despite the feeling that some substantial progress in terms of race

relations has been made since the civil rights movement of the 1960’s, “afro-

americans still feel that they are at the bottom of the race poll.” (Fenton,

p.13) Much racism and prejudice still exists in America today and with

occurrence of certain events, racial tensions are definitely increasing. For

example both the Rodney King and O.J. Simpson trials, ignited intense debate

amongst the population about racial issues. Despite the conviction of Rodney

Kings attackers and the acquittal of O.J. Simpson, blacks feel as though justice

was not served. “White America is still appalled at the destruction the King

verdict caused.”(Harton, p.89) The reaction to the results of these two cases

was caused by distress within the black community. In addition, it is this

distress that will cause blacks to suffer from high rates of anxiety.

Studies show that Afro-Americans demonstrate higher levels of fear and

apprehension. When asked what their anxiety was caused by, Afro-American teens

said that their fear comes from fear of dying before their 21 birthday and fear

of losing a loved one to drugs or gang violence. When presented with the same

question, white teens responded their greatest fears were not getting into grad

school and not being considered popular at school. Thus it is evident, that the

concerns of black teens are more about, “actual survival than they are about

their image or position in life”.(Friedman, p.63) However, it is important to

realize that this does not mean that white

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