Racism Found in Mental Health Care

African Americans are more likely to receive mental health assessments of psychiatric disorders related to disruptive, defiant and psychotic behavior than other racial and ethnic groups, according to data in a newly released government report on Americans’ use of mental health services. 

Psychiatrists, psychologists, and other mental health practitioners disproportionately labeled African Americans with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), schizophrenia, conduct disorder, and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) in mental health programs operated or funded by state mental health agencies, a 2024 annual report from the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) shows.  The report used data collected in 2022.

The findings add to growing evidence of systemic inequities affecting how mental health care is delivered.