Abstract
This issue of the journal contains powerful work on efforts to help youth most severely affected by psychiatric illness. Bath et al. offer a necessary investigation of the correlations between sex trafficking and several markers, including mental health disorders, substance use, and child welfare involvement. Tural Hesapcioglu et al. provide a retrospective chart review of adverse treatment responses, namely acute dystonic reactions, in antipsychotic-treated youth in Turkey. The article from Klein et al. is a nuanced investigation of medication adherence in youth with bipolar disorder and the interplay with weight gain associated with atypical antipsychotic medications.
As researchers and physicians, we concern ourselves daily with questions such as these—how do we identify and treat at-risk populations and help these youth lead more fulfilling lives. In that context, I cannot ignore that I am writing this at a time when the nation is consumed with protest, argument, and violence about the injustice that continues to face another at-risk group: black Americans.
With the extraordinary protest movement that has emerged after the death of George Floyd, I feel it is necessary that we add our voices as mental health professionals and identify the deleterious effects of entrenched racism and an us-versus-them mentality that afflicts our communities and the relationship between communities and government agencies such as the police.
I am heartened by the thousands of peaceful protesters across the nation demanding justice for black Americans. And I am hopeful when I see chiefs of police taking a knee to pray with these protesters and city governments discussing reform and the balance between policing and preventative social services.
Racial injustice exacts a quiet and brutal toll on the mental health of black families and children. The psychological stress of experiencing racism is too often invisible. This burden starts before birth and extends across generations and contributes to the disproportionate prevalence of untreated mental health challenges within black communities as well as the devastation of the school-to-prison pipeline.
As researchers and physicians, we are dedicated to promoting and protecting children's mental health. This cannot be done without confronting the mental health costs of a legacy of racism and disenfranchisement.
Similar to mental health disorders, racism thrives in silence. It is time to speak up.