Mental and Behavioral Health – Black/African Americans

• In 2022, suicide was the third leading cause of death for Black or African Americans ages 10 to 24.¹
• The death rate from suicide for Black or African American males was more than four times higher than for Black or African American females in 2021.²
• The overall suicide rate for Black or African Americans was 50% lower than that of the non-Hispanic white population, in 2021.²
• Non-Hispanic Black or African American female students in grades 9–12 were nearly two times more likely than non-Hispanic Black or African American male students to attempt suicide in 2023.³
• Black or African Americans living below the poverty level, as compared to those over twice the poverty level, were twice as likely to report serious psychological distress in 2015–2016.⁴

Mental Health Status

Serious psychological distress in the past year among persons age 18 and over, percentage, 2023
Non-Hispanic Black	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
11.4	14.2	0.8

Serious psychological distress in the past 30 days among adults age 18 and over, percentage of poverty level, 2015–2016
	Non-Hispanic Black	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
Below 100%	7.6	12.1	0.6
100% - less than 199%	3.9	7.6	0.5
200% - less than 399%	2.8	3.1	0.9

Feelings of sadness, hopelessness, worthlessness, or that everything is an effort, all or most of the time, among persons age 18 and over, percentage, 2018
	Non-Hispanic Black	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
Sadness	4.2	2.7	1.6
Hopelessness	1.8	2.2	0.8
Worthlessness	1.7	2.3	0.7
Everything is an effort	10.9	6.5	1.7

Serious psychological distress among persons age 18 and over, percentage, 2018
	Non-Hispanic Black	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
Male	2.6	2.7	1.0
Female	4.9	4.7	1.0
Total	3.8	3.7	1.0

Major depressive episode in the past year among persons age 18 and over, percentage, 2023
Non-Hispanic Black	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
6.5	9.1	0.7

Any mental illness in the past year among persons age 18 and over, percentage, 2023
Non-Hispanic Black	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
19.4	24.0	0.8

Death Rates

Age-adjusted death rates for suicide by sex, race, and Hispanic origin, 2021
	Non-Hispanic Black	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
Male	14.8	30.0	0.5
Female	3.3	7.5	0.4
Total	8.8	18.6	0.5

Suicide rates by age, race, and Hispanic origin, 2019: Males
	Non-Hispanic Black Males	Non-Hispanic White Males	Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
15–24 years	18.3	25.6	0.7
25–44 years	20.0	36.0	0.6
45–64 years	11.9	38.3	0.3
65 years and over	8.9	37.6	0.2
All ages, age adjusted	12.5	28.0	0.4

Suicide rates by age, race, and Hispanic origin, 2019: Females
	Non-Hispanic Black Females	Non-Hispanic White Females	Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
15–24 years	4.4	6.1	0.7
25–44 years	4.5	9.8	0.5
45-64 years	3.0	12.6	0.2
65 years and over	1.3	6.2	0.2
All ages, age adjusted	2.9	7.7	0.4

Adolescents

Death rates for suicide: ages 15–19, 2021
	Non-Hispanic Black	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
Male	15.1	17.7	0.9
Female	5.1	5.0	1.0
Both Sexes	10.1	11.6	0.9

Students in grades 9–12 who seriously considered attempting suicide in the past 12 months, percentage, 2023
	Non-Hispanic Black	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
Male	11.6	16.0	0.7
Female	27.7	28.5	1.0
Total	19.6	22.1	0.9

Students in grades 9–12 who attempted suicide in the past 12 months, percentage, 2023
	Non-Hispanic Black	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
Male	7.4	5.7	1.3
Female	13.4	10.9	1.2
Total	10.3	8.3	1.2

Access To Health Care

Adults age 18 and over who received mental health treatment in the past year, percentage, 2023
Non-Hispanic Black	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
15.1	27.0	0.6

Adults age 18 and over who received mental health treatment through prescription medication, percentage, 2023
Non-Hispanic Black	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
7.7	20.6	0.4

Adults age 18 and over with a major depressive episode in the past year who received treatment for depression, percentage, 2022
Non-Hispanic Black	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Black / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
56.1	68.4	0.8

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¹ CDC. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS). http://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/index.html (back)

² CDC, 2024. Deaths: Final Data for 2021. National Vital Statistics Report, Vol. 73, No. 8. Table 10. (back)

³ CDC, 2024. High School Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data. High School Students Who Actually Attempted Suicide, 2023. (back)

⁴ CDC, 2019. Health United States, 2017. Table 46. For the definition of “serious psychological distress,” see Appendix. (back)