OPPapers.com

Anxiety And Depression In Afro-Americans

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%...