“I’m a Work in Progress”
Rethinking Posttraumatic Growth Among Low-Income Black Men
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21748745 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Cherrell Green (0000-0003-2158-3842, University of Missouri–St. Louis, corresponding author), Melissa E Noel (0000-0002-2278-5529, Temple University) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 19 |
| Issue | 6 |
| Pages | 15579883251408383-15579883251408383 |
| Publication date | 2025-11-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Journal of Men s Health (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1557-9883 • E-ISSN: 1557-9891 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/15579883251408383 |
| PMID | 41414885 |
| OpenAlex | W4417524489 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 29 |
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
Meaning-making · Posttraumatic growth · Prosocial behavior · Qualitative research · Child Abuse and Trauma · Migration, Health and Trauma · Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
Homeward
Abductive Analysis
Developmental Trauma Disorder
Target Article
The Mass Criminalization of Black Americans
“I Done Been Through a Lot of Stuff and I Done Seen a Lot of Things”
Oh hell no, we don't talk to police”
Being a Man About It
Posttraumatic growth in low-income Black mothers who survived Hurricane Katrina
The social ecology of resilience
Navigating New Norms of Involved Fatherhood
Naturalistic inquiry
The essence of innocence
Resilience, Trauma, Context, and Culture
Violence, Peace, and Peace Research
Hegemonic Masculinity
Site of Resilience
"Street Life" as a Site of Resiliency
Multiple Resistance Strategies
Spirituality and Subjective Religiosity Among African Americans, Caribbean Blacks, and Non-Hispanic Whites
An Anthropology of Structural Violence
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |