“I’m a Keep Rising. I’m a Keep Going Forward, Regardless”

Abstract

A growing number of health and social science research findings document Black men's adversities, but far less is known about their strengths. The purpose of this study was to explore resilience among low-income, urban, Black men. Semistructured interviews produced rich narratives, which uncovered numerous sociostructural stressors in men's lives, such as racism, incarceration, and unemployment. Most men were resilient despite these challenges, however, and described five main forms of resilience: (a) perseverance; (b) a commitment to learning from hardship; (c) reflecting and refocusing to address difficulties; (d) creating a supportive environment; and (e) drawing support from religion/spirituality. Analysis of men's challenge and resilience narratives revealed the need to understand and promote low-income, urban, Black men's resilience via a broader ecosocial perspective which acknowledges the importance of social and community-level protective factors to support individual men's efforts to survive and thrive amid their adversities.

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