Just Be A Man About It: The Influence of Masculinity on Coping Mechanisms In Undergraduate African American Men

<p>African American men are socialized to strive and achieve manhood as defined by society at large. However, becoming a man within African American culture is not so simple. To achieve manhood, African American men must deal with the pressures of staying true to their culture, while striving to be accepted into mainstream society. This dilemma may serve as a stressor. Using a sequential exploratory design, this research explored the influence of masculinity on the coping mechanisms of undergraduate African American men. A secondary purpose was to develop a qualitatively grounded, culturally tailored Masculinity scale for use in future research in this area. The qualitative phase included interviews (N=13) and focus groups (N=4) with 46 African American undergraduate males at two universities in the Southeastern United States. Qualitative results suggested that three levels of masculinity exist for African American men; what being a man is, what being a Black man is, and who influences male development. Survey results (N=162) showed that five levels of masculinity exist for African American men: (1) mainstream society, (2) Black masculinity, (3) primary group, (4) mainstream society/Black masculinity, and (5) primary/peer group and most identify with mainstream society or Black masculinity. Results also showed that a relationship does exist between the type of masculinity one identifies with and coping mechanisms displayed and racial discrimination. Implications for colleges, public health practitioners, and future research are discussed.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Public Health (Dr.P.H.)

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation (restricted to Georgia Southern)

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health

Year dc:date.available

2011

Author dc:creator

• Mincey, Krista

Contributors dc:contributor

• John Luque
• Amy Hackney
• unknown

• ETD
• Masculinity
• African American men
• College
• Coping
• Stress
• Community-Based Research
• Community Health and Preventive Medicine
• Gender and Sexuality
• Public Health

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/641

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu:etd-1641