Young Carers from Black Asian Minority Ethnic (BAME) Communities

Abstract

People from Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities are more likely to experience poverty, discrimination and unemployment. Individuals from the Black African and Black Caribbean communities are more likely to be given a diagnosis of schizophrenia and are less likely to be diagnosed with affective or mood disorder. These individuals experience higher rates of admission to inpatient units and compulsory detention. Children and adolescents from BAME communities not only experience the impact of a parent, sibling or other family member with a mental health problem but may have to endure the added stigma of perceived cultural stereotypes. Some young carers belong to first-generation migrant families who find themselves adapting to a very different way of life in the UK. Other young carers are part of the second-generation migrant community and although they have acculturated to what is their birth place, they can be vulnerable to inequalities within education, social exclusion, racial discrimination, insecure housing and the criminal justice system.