Regular Research ArticleBridging the Gap Between Common Mental Disorders and Service Use: The Role of Self-Rated Mental Health Among African Americans
Section snippets
Data
The data were from the Milwaukee African American oversample of the Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS II) study, 2005–2006.22 Using a stratified area probability sampling, data were collected from 79 census tracts with populations at least 40% African American in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. The census blocks were stratified by income, with roughly half coming from tracts in which the median household income was $40,000 or greater, and the remainder coming from tracts in which the
Descriptive Information of the Sample
Table 1 summarizes descriptive information on the sample and study variables. The sample included 460 participants, aged between 40 and 85 years, with an average age of 54.9 years (SD: 10.6). More than half of the participants were women (62%). About 30% were married, and 76% received a high school education or more. Approximately 78% had health insurance that covered mental health service use, and more than half of the sample (52.6%) had three or more chronic medical conditions. The overall
Discussion
Responding to the historical mental health care disparities in African Americans,1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 the present study conceptualized self-rated mental health as a potential factor that may help explain the gap between mental disorder and service use. An individual's subjective appraisal of mental health status is considered to be a critical part of help-seeking decision-making that determines the path regarding whether the presence of mental disorder is linked to the use of services.11, 12, 13
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