African American Adolescents and Mental Health Care: A Metasynthesis

PROBLEM: African American adolescents access mental health services at lower rates than their Caucasian counterparts, thus resulting in a large disparity. The purpose of the study was to understand the experiences of African American adolescents in dealing with mental health conditions and what led to or hindered their access to mental health services. METHODS: A metasynthesis of six qualitative studies was conducted using the meta-ethnographic approach by Noblit and Hare. FINDINGS: Four reciprocal themes illuminating the experiences of African American adolescents with mental health issues were revealed: uncertainty and soul searching, strength of the inner circle, shame and reluctance, belief in the system. Each of the themes was explored in detail through the rich quotations of the adolescents. CONCLUSIONS: The findings provided an insight and understanding into the process the adolescents went through before seeking help and may aid as a framework for designing interventions to better serve this vulnerable population.