Understanding Ethnoracial Disparities and Advancing Mental Health Equity Through Clinical Psychological Science: Introduction to Special Issue

Abstract

Mental health disparities persist in countries such as the United States and across the world. Research with disparity populations is underrepresented in mainstream clinical psychological journals, and existing science has not focused on group specific lived experiences. Achieving mental health equity requires examination of determinants of psychopathology and health disparities and personal and cultural attributes that promote mental health. Clinical psychological science ideally also encourages and values research with underrepresented minority and underserved populations, novel and underused study designs, and research produced by diverse scholars. Our special issue highlights research that considers systematically culture specific processes, examines not only individual- but also community-level factors that relate to psychopathology and mental-health care, and challenges structural limitations in the current literature. We review these articles that incorporate innovative and community engaged approaches and showcase the importance of diversity in researcher and research participant demographics and perspectives in the advancement of equity in clinical psychological science.