Considered today to be abuse based on pseudo-science, two alleged mental illnesses of negros were described in scientific literature: drapetomania, the mental illness that made slaves desire to run away, and dysaesthesia aethiopica, laziness or "rascality".
Today viewed as a form of pseudoscientific abuse, two alleged mental health conditions affecting African Americans were documented in scientific literature: drapetomania, which caused slaves to yearn for freedom, and dysaesthesia aethiopica, characterized by laziness or 'rascality'.