January 5, 2007 12:55 p.m. EST

Linda Young - All Headline News Staff Writer

Boston, MA (AHN) - A new study on how prevalent psychiatric problems were among black individuals in the U.S. made a startling discovery. Black immigrants from Caribbean countries experience more mental health problems than usual the longer they stay here, researchers say.

When comparing first-generation Caribbean Blacks to second-or third-generations, researchers found that third-generation Caribbean Blacks had markedly elevated rates of psychiatric disorders.

Researchers wrote in their conclusion: "Mental health risks were associated with ethnic diversity within the U.S. Black population. Increased exposure to minority status in the United States was associated with higher risks for psychiatric disorders among Black Caribbean immigrants, which possibly reflects increased societal stress and downward social mobility associated with being Black in America."

Six percent of the U.S. black population is foreign-born, with the majority of those individuals coming from the Caribbean.

David R. Williams, was the lead author. He is a professor in the Department of Society, Human Development and Health at the Harvard School of Public Health. The study was published in the January issue of "American Journal of Public Health."


http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7006049419

The obvious conclusion to be drawn is that Africans coming from a majority black country will suffer mental distress more than their counterparts socialised ino the system.

The study says nothing about continental Africans however. What their rates of mental disorders are is not mentioned.

Another factor is these white people are quick to diagnose Africans from wherever as mentally ill as it suits their agenda.

So I dont know what to make of the above...but my suspicious will be that the overall statistics will bear out the same for continentals and Caribbeans