Negative Social Contextual Stressors and Somatic Symptoms Among Young Black Males: An Exploratory Study

Abstract

This study examines whether negative social contextual stressors were associated with somatic symptoms among young Black males (N = 74) after accounting for background and psychological characteristics. Using Cunningham and Spencer’s Black Male Experiences Measure, negative social contextual stressors connoted those experiences connected to the personal attributes, devaluation, and negative imagery of young Black males, such as being followed when entering a store or police or security guards asking them what they are doing when hanging out (e.g., in the park or playground or on the street corner). Results showed that such stressors made a unique and significant contribution to the experience of somatic symptoms. Future research directions and implications for addressing the larger societal perceptions of young Black males are discussed.

Keywords:

• Black males
• negative social contextual stressors
• somatic symptoms
• invisibility syndrome

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

We are grateful to the young men who participated in this research project.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (5R03MH067124-01). Points of view in this article do not represent the official position or policies of the National Institute of Mental Health.