Article Reflection: Racial Disparity in Schizophrenia Diagnosis

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Article Reflection: Racial Disparity in Schizophrenia Diagnosis
Consistent study results show racial disparities in the diagnosis of psychotic disorders. The diagnosis of schizophrenia is among the medical practices that have been significantly implicated in this disparity. The review article “Racial disparities in psychotic disorder diagnosis: A review of empirical literature” by Schwartz et al. is among the academic journals that evaluate this phenomenon. The authors base their research on the finding that African Americans are more likely to get schizophrenia diagnoses compared to Euro-Americans by a factor of three to four times. The mystery lies in explaining this disparity given that there is no genetic evidence showing that African Americans are more susceptible to the disease compared to Euro-Americans.
The lack of empirical-based evidence explaining the overrepresentation of African Americans in schizophrenia diagnosis has led to predictions of possible explanations. As explained in the article, misdiagnosis due to clinicians’ bias is among the factors that result in the disparity. This implies the existing societal racial stereotypes and biases play a significant role in the misdiagnoses that results in African Americans being...