Mental Health in Black America Harold W. Neighbors & James S. Jackson

How is the quality of life among black Americans related to their behavioral health problems and diseases? What strategies do blacks use to cope with the problems of living in America today? Contributors to MENTAL HEALTH IN BLACK AMERICA explore these and other pressing questions. This unique edited volume, which is based on the National Survey of Black Americans data set, details the self-reported stress of being black in America and documents the cultural resources African Americans draw upon to overcome adversity and maintain a positive, healthy perspective on life. Beginning with a discussion of black life satisfaction and the psychological and sociological factors that affect it, the book explores how these psychosocial factors contribute to such health problems as alcoholism and hypertension. The book also examines how blacks solve life problems, focusing on such coping strategies as prayer, avoidance, help-seeking and active problem solving. Readers will come away from this volume with a sense of the resilience of African Americans and a clearer understanding of how blacks have been able to accomplish so much in the face of pervasive prejudice and discrimination.

• OVERVIEW OF THE CHAPTERS
  
• Introduction (Chapter 1)
  
• Description of Chapters 2-12