Barriers and Disparities in Mental Health Care: Examining Service Utilization among African American Adolescents Open Access
Oluwabusayo, Ogunlusi (Spring 2025)
Abstract
African American adolescents experience high levels of psychological distress yet remain significantly underrepresented in mental health service utilization. This study analyzes data from the 2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), a nationally representative, cross-sectional survey of the U.S. population, focusing on African American youth aged 12–17. Guided by Critical Race Theory and the Andersen Behavioral Model of Health Services Use, this research explores how predisposing, enabling, and need factors relate to both service utilization and unmet mental health needs. While none of the predisposing or enabling factors were significantly associated with service use, nearly all need factors were. In contrast, unmet needs were significantly associated with most enabling and nearly all need factors, with gender emerging as the only significant predisposing factor. These findings highlight a critical disconnect between need and service access, emphasizing the importance of culturally responsive, equity-driven approaches to reduce barriers and improve mental health outcomes for Black adolescents.
Table of Contents
I- Background. 1
II- Literature Review. 8
III- Methodology. 22
IV- Results. 31
V- Discussion. 36
References. 46
Tables. 57
Appendices. 77
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Barriers and Disparities in Mental Health Care: Examining Service Utilization among African American Adolescents () | 2025-04-25 17:53:01 -0400 |
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