Drug use among African American youth has been found to be lower than in their White counterparts. However, little information exists on the correlation between drug use and mental health, especially among the African American population. This study is an analysis of data collected by the 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health to explore the prevalence of use of various drugs among African American youth and its co-occurrence of mental distress and mental disorders in comparison with White youth. Findings confirmed a low level of drug prevalence among the study population, a negative relationship of drug use and psychological distress, and different odds of co-occurring mental disorders as represented by overnight hospital stay for mental problems related to the use of different drugs. Whereas family structure, parental role, and religiosity are considered contributing factors to drug use, how they can explain the contradictory findings of comorbid issues from this study is questionable. Further research to continue this topic is suggested.
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