“I’m a Work in Progress”: Rethinking Posttraumatic Growth Among Low-Income Black Men

Abstract

Low-income Black men in the United States experience cumulative trauma shaped by structural violence, including poverty, residential segregation, over-policing, mass incarceration, and community violence. These systemic harms disrupt identity, relationships, and opportunity, constraining both exposure to trauma and pathways for recovery and growth. Drawing on Tedeschi and Calhoun’s posttraumatic growth (PTG) framework, integrated with socioecological and culturally grounded perspectives on resilience, this study examines how low-income Black men make meaning of trauma and pursue transformation amid structural constraints. Using in-depth qualitative case studies with 10 men, we highlight four focal cases to illustrate diverse trajectories of growth. Findings show that PTG unfolds as an iterative, contextually embedded process: some men achieved comprehensive transformation through prosocial engagement, fatherhood, and relational repair, whereas others navigated persistent structural barriers yet demonstrated growth through survival, persistence, and redefined purpose. By situating PTG within systemic inequality, relational networks, and cultural context, this study extends the framework beyond individual cognition, emphasizing how structurally and socially mediated pathways shape PTG among marginalized Black men.