Background: People from Black ethnic groups (African-Caribbean and Black African) are more prone to develop psychosis in Western countries. This excess might be explained by perceptions of disadvantage.
Aims: To investigate whether the higher incidence of psychosis in Black people is mediated by perceptions of disadvantage.
Method: A population-based incidence and case-control study of first-episode psychosis (Aetiology and Ethnicity in Schizophrenia and Other Psychoses (AESOP)). A total of 482 participants answered questions about perceived disadvantage.
Results: Black ethnic groups had a higher incidence of psychosis (OR= 4.7, 95% CI 3.1-7.2). After controlling for religious affiliation, social class and unemployment, the association of ethnicity with psychosis was attenuated (OR=3.0, 95% CI 1.6-5.4) by perceptions of disadvantage. Participants in the Black non-psychosis group often attributed their disadvantage to racism, whereas Black people in the psychosis group attributed it to their own situation.
Conclusions: Perceived disadvantage is partly associated with the excess of psychosis among Black people living in the UK. This may have implications for primary prevention.