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The Beginnings of Mental Health Disparities: Emergent Mental Disorders Among Indigenous Adolescents

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Health Disparities in Youth and Families

Part of the book series: Nebraska Symposium on Motivation ((NSM,volume 57))

Abstract

Indigenous people (American Indian/Alaska Natives; AI/AN) make up the smallest ethnic group in the United States comprising about 1.5% of the population (4.3 million people, Ogunwole, 2006), yet they rank higher in health disparities than any other ethnic group. The current life expectancy for an Indigenous person born today is nearly 5 years shorter than that of the general population (72.3 vs. 76.9 years). They are nearly six times more likely to die from alcoholism then are other Americans, five times more likely to die from tuberculosis, three times more likely to die from diabetes, and three times more likely to die from unintentional injuries, homicide or suicide (Indian Health Service, 1992) Indigenous children are more than twice as likely to die in the first 4 years of life than are other American children.

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Acknowledgment

This research was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (DA13580) and the National Institute of Mental Health (MH67281), Les B. Whitbeck, Principal Investigator.

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  1. Department of Sociology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, 68588-0324, USA

    Les B. Whitbeck

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  1. Les B. Whitbeck
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Correspondence to Les B. Whitbeck .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. Psychology, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Lincoln, 68588-0308, Nebraska, USA

    Gustavo Carlo

  2. Dept. Psychology, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Lincoln, 68588-0308, Nebraska, USA

    Lisa J. Crockett

  3. Dept. Sociology, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Oldfather Hall 705, Lincoln, 68588, Nebraska, USA

    Miguel A. Carranza

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Whitbeck, L.B. (2011). The Beginnings of Mental Health Disparities: Emergent Mental Disorders Among Indigenous Adolescents. In: Carlo, G., Crockett, L., Carranza, M. (eds) Health Disparities in Youth and Families. Nebraska Symposium on Motivation, vol 57. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-7092-3_6

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