The Relationship Between Race/Ethnicity and the Perceived Experience of Mental Health Care

Although there is a vast amount of literature on differences in the perceived experiences of general health care among different racial/ethnic groups, few studies have examined the relationship between race/ethnicity and perceptions of mental health care. The purpose of this study was to determine whether non-Hispanic African Americans and Hispanics had more negative (or less positive) perceptions of the mental health treatment they receive compared to non-Hispanic Whites. Data were from the 1998-2006 Florida Health Services Surveys. The findings indicated that African Americans and Hispanics were less likely than Whites to have favorable perceptions of the mental health care services they received, even after adjusting for demographic and health status variables. Interventions should be designed to address disparities in mental health treatment and the perceptions of such treatment.