Help-Seeking Behaviors and Depression Among African American Adolescent Boys‪.‬

Childhood depression is a serious public health concern for families, schools, social workers, and other mental health practitioners. Annual estimates in the general population indicate that 8.3 percent of adolescents suffer from depression (Birmaher et al., 1996). Although research indicates that depression is highly amenable to treatment (Petersen et al., 1993), the Surgeon General's Report on Mental Health (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [HHS], 2001) indicated that few children and adolescents with a depressive disorder receive care. African American adolescents who reside in urban, high-risk communities may be among the most underserved populations. African American adolescents experience depression more than adolescents from other racial and ethnic groups (Garrison, Jackson, Marsteller, McKeown, & Addy, 1990; Roberts, Roberts, &Chen, 1997; Wu et al., 1999). Because African American adolescents are more likely than other groups to live in low-income households, they may be at particularly high risk of depression. Depression among African American adolescent boys, in particular, has been linked to having fewer perceived future opportunities (Hawkins, Hawkins, Sabatino, & Ley, 1998); low neighborhood social capital and kinship social support (Stevenson, 1998); and violent behavior in African American adolescent boys living in an urban, high-risk setting (DuRant, Getts, Cadenhead, Emans, & Woods, 1995). Furthermore, African American adolescents may experience barriers to identifying and using effective treatments.