“I Stay On Point”: Contextual Understandings of Trauma and Hypervigilance among Young Black Men in Economically Disadvantaged Urban Contexts

Violence prematurely and disproportionately claims the lives of Black youth in America. Homicide is the leading cause of death for Black youth ages 10 – 24 (CDC, 2012). Black males residing in economically disadvantaged urban neighborhoods are disproportionately impacted. Annually, tens of thousands of Black males are hospitalized due to nonfatal, violence-related injuries, and thousands more are killed (CDC, 2012; Rich et al., 2009). Countless others witness violence in the neighborhoods where they live, learn, work, parent, and play. Recent research is beginning to examine the prevalence of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTS) among young, Black men (Corbin et al., 2013); however, our understandings of posttraumatic stress responses in this population remain limited. Using a modified grounded theory approach (LaRossa, 2005), in-depth interviews were conducted with young, Black men in Baltimore, MD (n = 40; ages 18-24) to understand the context, process, and meaning of PTS for this group. Across interviews, young men clearly connected place and health, referring to their city as “Bodymore, Murdaland” and consistently describing contexts of chronic, unpredictable lethal violence that could happen to anyone, at any place, at anytime. In response, young men remained “on point” or at a continuous, heightened state of arousal in an effort to quickly anticipate threats of violence in their environment and negotiate safety. Specifically, young men watched their surroundings, watched their backs, watched people, and kept a small circle. Developmental implications of chronic hypervigilance in response to persistent violence in neighborhoods where no absolute “post” traumatic period exists are discussed.