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The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Critical Perspectives on Mental Health pp 1–6Cite as

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Black Boys and Mental Health in Urban Communities

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Abstract

The unmet mental health needs of Black boys have become a growing concern among mental health scholars and practitioners. One reason, among others, is the recent increase in suicide rates among Black boys in urban communities. Recent statistics suggest that Black boys commit suicide at 3–4 times the rate of their White counterparts. Research studies have noted several contributing factors, namely institutional and structural racism, hypermasculine expectations and norms, stereotypical notions of Black masculinity, exposure to community-based violence, and disenfranchised grief, just a few to name. Yet, limited attention in the extant literature has been paid to Black boys’ mental health crises in urban communities. Drawing on Black Male Studies, the purpose of the entry is to highlight how the inattention and limited solutions to address the unmet mental needs of Black boys are symptomatic of a broader anti-Black misandric conspiracy to destroy Black boys and to institutionalize their anti-Black misandric psychological and social death and to exacerbate their psycho-eschatological conditions in urban communities and society.

Keywords

  • Anti-Black misandry
  • Black boys
  • Mental health

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Education, Health, and Society, Department of Teacher Education, Miami University, Oxford, OH, USA

    Nathaniel Bryan

Authors
  1. Nathaniel Bryan
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Correspondence to Nathaniel Bryan .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Counseling & Educational Psychology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA

    Jessica Nina Lester

  2. The Greenwood Institute, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK

    Dr. Michelle O'Reilly

Section Editor information

  1. Teacher Education & Administration, University of North Texas, Denton, TX, USA

    Tran Templeton

  2. Rhode Island College, Providence, RI, USA

    Victoria Restler

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Bryan, N. (2022). Black Boys and Mental Health in Urban Communities. In: Lester, J.N., O'Reilly, M. (eds) The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Critical Perspectives on Mental Health. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-12852-4_92-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-12852-4_92-1

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-12852-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-12852-4

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