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Comparative Study
. 2013 May;103(5):861-7.
doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2012.301184. Epub 2013 Mar 14.

Stigma, discrimination, or symptomatology differences in self-reported mental health between US-born and Somalia-born Black Americans

Carrie Henning-Smith  1 , Tetyana P Shippee, Donna McAlpine, Rachel Hardeman, Farhiya Farah
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Stigma, discrimination, or symptomatology differences in self-reported mental health between US-born and Somalia-born Black Americans

Carrie Henning-Smith et al. Am J Public Health. 2013 May.

Abstract

Objectives: We examined differences in self-reported mental health (SRMH) between US-born and Somalia-born Black Americans compared with White Americans. We tested how SRMH was affected by stigma toward seeing a mental health provider, discrimination in the health care setting, or symptoms of depression.

Methods: Data were from a 2008 survey of adults in Minnesota and were limited to US-born and Somalia-born Black and White Americans (n = 938).

Results: Somalia-born adults were more likely to report better SRMH than either US-born Black or White Americans. They also reported lower levels of discrimination (18.6%) than US-born Black Americans (33.4%), higher levels of stigma (23.6% vs 4.7%), and lower levels of depressive symptoms (9.1% vs 31.6%). Controlling for stigma, discrimination, and symptomatology, Somalia-born Black Americans reported better SRMH than White and Black Americans (odds ratio = 4.76).

Conclusions: Mental health programming and health care providers who focus on Black Americans' mental health might be missing important sources of heterogeneity. It is essential to consider the role of race and ethnicity, but also of nativity, in mental health policy and programming.

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Figures

FIGURE 1—
FIGURE 1—
Average self-reported mental health score among adult respondents by race/ethnicity and nativity: Minnesota, 2008. Note. 1 = poor mental health; 5 = excellent mental health. Percentages are based on the weighted sample. Reference category = White respondents. Whiskers indicate 95% confidence intervals. All differences were significant at P < .001.
FIGURE 2—
FIGURE 2—
Discrimination, stigma, and symptomatology among adult respondents by race/ethnicity and nativity: Minnesota, 2008. Note. Percentages are based on the weighted sample. Reference category = White respondents. Whiskers indicate 95% confidence intervals. All differences between US-born and Somalia-born Black adults were significant at P < .001.
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