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“Mama just won’t accept this”: Adult Perspectives on Engaging Depressed African American Teens in Clinical Research and Treatment

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Abstract

This manuscript focuses on qualitative data collected for AAKOMA Project, a 2-phase treatment engagement intervention trial for depressed African American adolescents and families. Data are presented from our phase I study of adult perspectives on African American adolescent depression, depression treatment, and research engagement. The research team conducted four focus groups (N = 24) and generated major themes from the data including ideas regarding the manifestations of depression in African American youth and psychosocial barriers to participation in depression research and treatment. Findings indicate that success in recruiting and retaining African American youth in depression research and treatment may include using innovative means to overcome the culturally embedded attributions of depression to non-biological causes, beliefs about the cultural insensitivity of treatments and challenges in the logistics of obtaining care. Adults report that encouraging youth and familial involvement in treatments and research should include targeted, community-partnered activities involving diverse staff in leadership roles and including community members as equal partners.

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Acknowledgment

This research was supported by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Center for Minority Health and Health Disparities awarded to Dr. Breland-Noble. Dr. Bell is co-primary mentor for Dr. Breland-Noble’s K Award from the National Institute of Mental Health. The AAKOMA Project Adult advisory board consists of 13 adults from Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina. The authors acknowledge Michelle Roley for her contribution to this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA

    Alfiee M. Breland-Noble

  2. Psychiatry and School of Public Health, the Institute for Juvenile Research, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, USA

    Carl C. Bell

  3. The Community Mental Health Council (CMHC), Inc, 8704 S. Constance, Chicago, IL, 60617, USA

    Carl C. Bell

  4. Durham, NC, USA

    Antoinette Burriss

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  1. Alfiee M. Breland-Noble
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AAKOMA Project Adult Advisory Board

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Correspondence to Alfiee M. Breland-Noble.

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Breland-Noble, A.M., Bell, C.C., Burriss, A. et al. “Mama just won’t accept this”: Adult Perspectives on Engaging Depressed African American Teens in Clinical Research and Treatment. J Clin Psychol Med Settings 18, 225–234 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10880-011-9235-6

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