Mental Health Access and Utilization Among the United States Population of Black Children

Background: There is a growing awareness about the importance of good mental health for the economic well-being of the nation. Little is known on the access and utilization of mental health services among the children of black immigrant mothers. This comparative investigation examined health care access, and health utilization of mental health services of children from birth to seventeen years with mothers identifying as native-born and foreign-born blacks from the National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH). Methods: This study utilized data from the NSCH, a nationally representative survey instrument having a sample size of 102, 353 children. The sample population for this research consisted of the 651 children with mothers identifying as black foreign-born and 7,815 children with mothers identifying as black native-born. This investigation stratified children from the NSCH into four age categories. The theoretical framework was the Behavioral Model of Health Service Use. The main clinical outcome measure was the provision of mental health service. Results: Logistic regression model was developed to perform multivariate analyses on the odds ratio for the receipt of mental health services. The OR for mental health service was 0.36; CI =0.15-0.89 revealing that children of black foreign-born were less likely to receive mental health services compared to children of black natives. Public Health Significance: Findings indicate the need for interventions to address disparities among the black sub-population of children in the receipt of mental health services, collecting data among sub-populations and developing new approaches to address disparities in communities of color.