Counterbalancing Mechanisms Underlying the Black-White Mental Health Paradox

• In Event: 50214 - Mental Health and Stratification/Inequality

Abstract

Black Americans consistently report better or equal mental health outcomes relative to their White counterparts — a pattern that scholars refer to as the "Black-White mental health paradox." In this study, we draw on state representative survey data from the Person to Person Health Interview Study (N = 2,460) and examine the counterbalancing roles of psychosocial resources, mental health stigma, socioeconomic status (SES), and stressors in shaping racial differences in mental health outcomes. Consistent with past research, we find that Black respondents report better mental health across multiple domains, including depression, anxiety, and substance abuse severity. In restricted models that individually adjust for each mechanism, formal mediation analyses reveal that resources, but not mental health stigma, significantly mediate Black-White differences in mental health (i.e., the magnitude of the racial difference in mental health decreases). In contrast, both SES and stressors suppress Black-White differences in mental health (i.e., the magnitude of the racial difference in mental health increases). In the full model that concurrently adjusted for all mechanistic pathways, the effects of resources and stressors counterbalanced or offset each other, resulting in an attenuated association between race and mental health. We conclude by discussing the theoretical and methodological implications of these findings for research on the Black-White mental health paradox.

Authors

• Nicholas Smith, University of Maryland-College Park

• Onyekachukwu Chimmuanya Arah, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill