However, there is broad agreement that social contextual factors that reflect exposure to chronic and acute stressors linked to the living and working conditions of these populations play a role in shaping their mental health risk ( Pearlin et al. or the patterning of the various indicators of mental health status for all of these minority populations. We do not currently have a clear sense of either the determinants of the levels of mental health status for the major racial/ethnic groups in the U.S. However, once depressed, both black groups were more likely than whites to be chronically or persistently depressed, have more severe symptoms, higher levels of impairment, and not receive treatment. For example, in the national Study of American Life (NSAL), African Americans and Caribbean Blacks had lower current and lifetime rates of major depression than whites ( Williams et al. However, when blacks and Latinos experience mental illness, their episodes tend to be are more severe, persist for longer periods of time, and are more debilitating than for any other race/ethnic group ( Breslau et al.

With regards to defined psychiatric disorders, Hispanics (or Latinos),with the exception of Puerto Ricans, blacks, and Asians all have lower rates of lifetime and past year psychiatric disorders than whites ( Miranda et al.

Flourishing refers to the absence of mental disorders and the presence of high levels of psychological well-being. Blacks tend to report lower levels of psychological well-being on cognitively focused measures such as life satisfaction and happiness ( Hughes and Thomas 1998), but also report higher levels of flourishing than whites ( Keyes 2007). For several decades, research has shown that while blacks (or African Americans) often have higher rates of psychological distress than whites, some studies also find that whites have elevated levels of depressive and anxiety symptoms compared to blacks ( Dohrenwend 1969, Vega and Rumbaut 1991). The patterning of racial differences in mental health appear to vary by indicator of mental health status. There is considerable complexity in the association between race and mental health.

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