Mental Health Issues in Adolescents and Young Adults African Immigrants

African immigrants in the United States account for a rapidly growing population of immigrants in the country, constituting about 4% of the foreign-born population. The group has seen a significant population increase from 881,300 in 2010 to 1,606,914 in 2010. African immigrants are, however, not a monolithic population, as this number and diversity increase, there continues to be a growing need for mental health professionals to assess the peculiar mental health-care needs and practices of this population. The primary African immigrant groups in the United States include Nigerians, Ethiopians, Egyptians, Ghanaians, and Kenyans. The delivery of optimal mental health care to this population involves a thorough comprehension of factors that influence mental health in African immigrant populations. Such factors include the ethnocultural background of families, the diversity of religions, immigration status, socioeconomic status, language, family and sibling subsystems, identity issues, and various forms of mental health stigma. Due to the complexity of these socioeconomic and cultural nuances, the mental illness presented by adolescents and young adult Africans is often atypical and their treatment requires appropriate cultural competence by physicians and mental health professionals.