"The Awesomeness and the Vastness of Who You Really Are:" A Culturally Distinct Framework for Understanding the Link Between Spirituality and Health for Black Sexual Minority Men

Overview

Journal J Relig Health

Publisher Springer

Specialties General Medicine
Psychology
Social Sciences

Date 2021 Jun 17

PMID 34138442

Citations 6

Authors

Jonathan Mathias Lassiter

Ivie Mims

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Despite health inequities, many Black sexual minority men are resilient and often utilize spirituality as a culturally distinct self-protective and self-enhancing resource to maintain their health. However, little is known about how spirituality impacts health within a cultural framework that is specific to Black sexual minority men. We conducted 10 individual in-depth interviews, reaching code saturation, with Black sexual minority men across the USA. Our study was guided by grounded theory and a Black psychology theoretical framework. Seven themes were discovered and revealed that participants' level of spiritual consciousness influenced their engagement in psychological and behavioral processes that were related to mental and physical health. These themes were: (a) suboptimal worldview, (b) emotional revelation, (c) emotional emancipation, (d) emotional regulation, (e) health motivations, (f) health behaviors, and (g) links between spiritual consciousness, mental health, and physical health. Implications of these findings for clinicians and researchers are discussed.

Citing Articles

Stress Appraisal Mediates the Association Between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Depression Among Black Same-Gender-Loving Men: An African-Centered Interpretation.

Lassiter J, Foye A, Anwar K Am J Mens Health. 2024; 18(6):15579883241299343.

PMID: 39605278 PMC: 11603538. DOI: 10.1177/15579883241299343.

Religious Identity Dissonance: Examining the Path of Religious Factors to Depression in Sexual Minority Men in the USA.

Gibbs J, OShields J, DeVane R, Purcell A J Relig Health. 2024; 63(4):2981-2997.

PMID: 38517583 DOI: 10.1007/s10943-024-02025-4.

"You get what you need when you need it": A mixed methods examination of the feasibility and acceptability of a tailored digital tool to promote physical activity among women in midlife.

Arigo D, Lassiter J, Baga K, Jackson D, Lobo A, Guetterman T Digit Health. 2023; 9:20552076231210654.

PMID: 37954685 PMC: 10638881. DOI: 10.1177/20552076231210654.

Relationship Quality and Health Among Black Same-Sex Male Couples: Protocol for a Symbolic Netnography Study.

Lassiter J, Dacus J, Johnson M JMIR Res Protoc. 2022; 11(6):e29589.

PMID: 35657652 PMC: 9206204. DOI: 10.2196/29589.

Psychometric Testing of the Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale (DSES) Among Black Gay, Bisexual, and Other Sexual Minority Men (SMM) and Black Transwomen in the Deep South: The MARI Study.

Hickson D, He Y, Odusanya A, Smith A, Ogunbajo A, Smallwood S J Relig Health. 2022; 61(4):3507-3524.

PMID: 35147863 DOI: 10.1007/s10943-022-01516-6.

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