We Need to Emphasize Mental Health Awareness in Minorities

More than 30 years ago I published a paper that examined violent incidents involving African American and white patients in an inpatient psychiatric facility. To the surprise of nearly everyone at the time, the study found African Americans patients were less violent than whites. The study has been replicated multiple times, and the explanation was that African American patients were more closely supervised, more likely to be put into restraints, and given heavier doses of medication. In fact, the staff perceived the African American patients as being more violent even though the evidence was to the contrary. As a result, the staff was more aggressive in responding to any behavioral problems. At the time I did not see the findings having broad implications. Now, decades later I am finding that I underestimated the importance and generalizability of the findings.