Bridging Gaps in Care: A Gendered Analysis of Social Support and Mental Health Outcomes in Black Adolescents

Black adolescents face significant mental health disparities, particularly in rates of anxiety and depression, due to intersecting factors such as systemic racism, exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), and limited access to culturally responsive care. Guided by social support theory, this study explores how informal support networks—including parental involvement, peer connections, mentorship, neighborhood cohesion, and religious community support—predict mental health outcomes in Black youth. Using national data from the 2022 National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH), this study examines whether the presence of these support types are associated with decreased reports of anxiety and depression and investigates whether these relationships vary by gender. Binary logistic regression analyses revealed that positive peer interactions, family support, and neighborhood support significantly predicted lower odds of anxiety and depression across the sample. Gendered analyses showed that peer and neighborhood support had protective effects for both boys and girls, while some forms of support, such as familial involvement, showed significance in predicting depression but not anxiety. These findings highlight the nuanced ways gender shapes how Black youth experience and benefit from social support. Implications include the need for culturally grounded, gender-responsive mental health strategies and policy reforms that strengthen informal support networks in families, schools, and communities.