Sociocultural and Structural Determinants of Black Maternal Mental Health: A Scoping Review

Black women face a disproportionate risk of perinatal mental mood disorders with significant implications for maternal and infant health outcomes. Identifying the determinants of Black maternal mental health is needed to inform the development of culturally concordant programs and policy interventions.

This scoping review aims to identify and explore the sociocultural and structural determinants of Black maternal mental health.

Following the methodological frameworks proposed by Arksey and O'Malley and reworked by Levac et al., searches were conducted in four databases: CINAHL, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar. Studies published in English between January 2010 and December 2024 were included. A total of 4280 studies were retrieved. Two team members independently screened the articles, and conflicts were resolved by a third member. The data were extracted and analyzed thematically to identify the socio-cultural and structural determinants of Black maternal mental health.

Twenty-two studies were included in the final review. The review identified gendered racial stress, sociocultural expectations about strength, mental health-related stigma, racism in healthcare, health insurance coverage, socioeconomic status, relationship status, neighborhood conditions, level of educational attainment, and availability of social support as determinants of Black maternal mental health. These determinants are not mutually exclusive but intersect in complex ways to influence Black maternal mental health outcomes.

Findings from this review underscore the need for designing community and equity-informed interventions and programs to address health inequities and promote maternal mental health. Future research should focus on culturally and contextually grounded approaches to guide the development of innovative maternal mental health interventions.