Abstract
Although Black youth have similar prevalence rates of mental health conditions compared to national averages, they notably have lower mental health service utilization compared to their non-Black counterparts and often note stigmatizing views as a driver of this inequity. In this two-phase project, we aimed to understand how news media narratives surrounding mental health impact Black youth perceptions of mental health needs and stigma concerns in Minneapolis. First, we conducted a media scan of local television news that aired on the four major networks in Minneapolis between July 1 and December 31, 2023. Of the news stories that met the relevance criteria (n = 60), only six stories were about Black youth and mental health, most of which included stigmatizing message cues. We then held four focus groups with Black youth (13-19 years old) currently living in the Minneapolis area (n = 21). The participants in focus groups reaffirmed these cues as stigmatizing and highlighted the intersectional impact of news media messages on Black youth with mental health conditions. We discuss the absence of coverage as an additional stigmatizing message cue and present practical implications for elevating community-based stories in local news coverage.