Online Program

326980
“We're not looking for a handout, just a hand sometimes” - Stress Coping in African American Men's Health


Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Sydika McKissic, PhD, Institute for Research on Men's Health, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
Donnatesa Dean, BS, Institute for Research on Men's Health, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
Emily Cornish, MPH, Center for Research on Men's Health, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
Derek M. Griffith, PhD, Center for Medicine, Health and Society, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
Stress has been posited as a key determinant of health that helps to explain African American men’s high rates of chronic disease and premature mortality, particularly in middle age. The Environmental Affordances Framework posits that the poor health of African American men is due to how racialized and gendered social, cultural and environmental factors create myriad stressors and strains in these men’s lives, but limited options to cope with stress.  In this presentation, we will describe the findings from a study designed to examine how stress affects the health of middle-aged African American men. We used a thematic analysis of four exploratory focus groups with African American men ages 40-59 (n=35) to identify several key sources of stress including family responsibilities, low socioeconomic status, lack of social support, racism, historical events (e.g., slavery and segregation) and discrimination within the African American community. Some men reported using health-promoting strategies to cope with stress (i.e., physical activity and prayer) while others reported coping with stress via health-harming strategies (i.e., drinking, smoking).  While the majority of men mentioned dealing with stress alone, a significant number of men mentioned wanting to participate in forums with other African American peers to talk and receive support for the stressors that they experience. This research highlights the mechanisms through which stress affects the health of middle-aged African American men, and suggests important implications for how to improve African American men’s health, including the need to create healthy, gender-appropriate opportunities for men to constructively cope with stress.

Learning Areas:

Administer health education strategies, interventions and programs
Assessment of individual and community needs for health education
Diversity and culture
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Describe key sources of stress and coping strategies from middle-aged African American men Discuss the need to create healthy, gender-appropriate opportunities for African American men to constructively cope with stress

Keyword(s): African American, Men’s Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been the project director of several studies focusing on improving health and health behaviors of African American men. I have made key contributions to the development, implementation and analysis of these studies. Among my scientific interests has been the development of gender-appropriate programs and opportunities to promote sustained behavior change among African American men.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.