They Can’t Breathe: Why Neighborhoods Matter for the Health of African American Men and Boys

Abstract

Health inequities among African American men and boys stemming from risk-taking, violence, and substance abuse compromise family functioning and sustainability. When African American men and boys perish prematurely as a consequence of health inequities, there is an economic burden, disruption to secure familial livelihoods, and a socioemotional toll exacted on the individuals (often women and girls) they leave behind. African American men and boys are not only inhabiting neighborhoods and other social spaces that impose risks to their physical and psychological safety, they are also embodying those risks in ways that enhance biobehavioral risks for substance abuse. Thus, even as we strive to build stronger families, we have to acknowledge their inability to fully insulate African American men and boys from broader ecologic exposures. At the same time, we must acknowledge that African American men and boys possess untapped strengths and the capacity to thrive in the face of such exposures. Further, African American men define masculinity in ways that emphasize pro-action, redemption, interdependence, and close familial bonds. Such definitions imply that African American men may feel less bound by norms that discourage emotional vulnerability, and families may provide 'safe spaces' to disclose stress impacts. To enhance the protective capacities of families and decrease substance abuse risks among African American men, we need more multi-system interventions that focus on improving the noxious socio-structural conditions that suffocate innate potential. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)