Mental Health in Black America is an edited volume of empirical research studies on the emotional and psychological well-being of adult African Americans. A unique feature of this monograph is that all of the chapters are based on statistical analyses of a nationally representative dataset, The National Survey of Black Americans. Specifically, this is a book that details the self-reported stress of being black in America, while at the same time documenting the cultural resources African Americans draw upon to overcome adversity and maintain a positive, healthy perspective on life. Each chapter presented in this volume stands alone as a complete work, and as a result, each author makes a unique contribution to our understanding of African American mental health. Thus, these chapters need not be read in any particular order but can be sampled according to the interests of the reader. If, on the other hand, these chapters are read in sequence, one will discover a discernable thread that weaves these writings together into a coherent fabric describing the varied coping strategies and survival mechanisms intrinsic to African American life.

This monograph differs from other edited volumes on African American Mental Health in that all of the chapters focus on one research study. Many of the previous books on black mental health are compilations of non-quantitative, conceptual overviews of important mental health topics, or contain sources of data which vary widely in scope. And although the National Survey of Black Americans is used throughout the entire book, a variety of mental health outcomes are explored, including psychological distress (i.e., symptomatology), life happiness, life satisfaction, hypertension and problem drinking, to name a few. One of the more frequent ways that blacks choose to cope with stress, seeking help from family, friends and professionals, is also the subject of in-depth exploration. The special problems of certain demographic target groups known to be at increased mental health risk (e.g., women, the unemployed, the elderly) are given special emphasis.

The National Survey of Black Americans (NSBA) Cross Section Study attempted to address some of the major limitations in the existing literature. The NSBA was initiated in 1977. Funding for the study was provided by the Center for the Study of Minority Group Mental Health, National Institute of Mental Health, and the Ford Foundation. The NSBA is a national probability household survey that for the first time in social science history was based upon the distribution of the African American, non-institutionalized population in the continental United States. The final sample consists of 2,107 self-identified black Americans, 18 years of age and older. The survey was conducted over a seven month period in 1979 and 1980. The size and representativeness of the sample permit systematic investigation of the heterogeneity of the adult black population.

Substantively, this omnibus survey was concerned with major social, economic and psychological aspects of black American life. The questionnaire instrument included items on family and friend relationships, community life, religion, racial identity, political attitudes and participation, mental health, informal and formal help resources, and job and employment history. The 2,107 face to face household interviews were conducted by an all black, male and female professional interviewing staff, trained and supervised by the Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research.

In summary, Mental Health in Black America is comprised of three distinct but related substantive areas. The book starts with a positive focus, exploring happiness and life satisfaction. Then it segues into an exploration of how these quality of life indicators are related to health problems and diseases (e.g., excessive drinking and hypertension) afflicting African Americans. Once the dynamic tension between life quality and stress is established, we turn to an extended, in-depth perusal of the various coping mechanisms (anger-expression, denial, prayer, social support, problem-solving) used by blacks to deal with adversity. Chapters two and three focus on the broad psychological and sociological factors that are related to overall quality of life. The second section of the book (chapters 4 through 7) focuses on the manner in which many of these psychosocial factors contribute to the disproportionate number of health problems that burden the black community.

The third and final part of the book (chapters 8 - 12) examines how African Americans attempt to solve problems of living. Specifically, chapter 8 takes a detailed look at such coping strategies as prayer, avoidance and active problem solving, while the last four chapters investigate the decision to turn to others for help. Each of the four authors takes a slightly different perspective on describing the help seeking behavior of African Americans, detailing how blacks use informal support networks (both family and non-family) as well as documenting contact with professional services like community mental health, psychotherapists and the police. In short, after completing this book, readers will come away with a deep sense of respect for 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.