Studies examining Black-White differences in beliefs about causes of psychiatric disorders have shown that Blacks are less likely than Whites to using genetic or familial explanations as causative factors in mental illness, even when they accept other biological explanations, such as chemical imbalance (Schnittker, Freese, & Powell, 2000). Based on this finding, it has been postulated that different cognitive interpretations of the term “genetic” may yield different attitudes for Blacks and Whites, some of which stem from the different historical, racial, and cultural experiences that these groups have experienced (Schnittker et al., 2000). Consequently, the differences in beliefs about causes of mental illness may partly explain the differences between Blacks and Whites in treatment-seeking patterns for mental illness (Schnittker et al., 2000). It might be tempting to speculate that such attitudes among Blacks also might be related to their disposition towards genetic research of psychiatric disorders, but it is unknown if this link exists, or the extent to which it does, due to lack of empirical investigation directly addressing this issue.
