An Exploratory Study of African American Men's Perspectives of Domestic Violence

Background and Purpose: This presentation explores African American men’s perspectives of domestic violence in African American communities. Extensive research has explored domestic violence in African American families from the perspectives of women, service providers, and a lens of victimization. There is very limited research examining male perspectives of domestic violence. There is a less research on male exposure to and survivorship of domestic violence.

This paper helps fill this gap by examining the retrospective experiences of African American men’s exposure to domestic violence across their life span and their perspectives of resources available and barriers confronted in seeking domestic violence related services. Additionally, participants share their observations of the influence of social media on domestic violence in African American communities, and offer recommendations for addressing violence in African American families and communities.

Methods: Four 60 - 90 min audiotaped focus group discussions were conducted with 19 African American males (ages 24 - 49) living in the southern region of the United States. The participants are predominately middle/middle-upper class (84% completed college or a graduate degree) and earn over $60k per year. Participants were recruited using community-based participatory research methods, which included collaborations with non-profit organizations (domestic violence, rape crisis), student and African American Greek organizations at a public university, and social media sites, professional business community members, and religious groups. Participants also completed a self-report demographic questionnaire eliciting their experiences with domestic violence and service utilization. Focus group discussions elicited participants’ perspectives of domestic violence in African American communities, their perspectives on how social media influences domestic violence, resources available and barriers existing to service utilization, and their recommendations for addressing domestic violence in African American families. Focus groups were transcribed verbatim and coded thematically using NVivo qualitative software, guided by the principles of grounded theory and an inductive approach to qualitative analysis. Participants received $30 cash stipend upon completion of the focus group interview.

Findings: Data analysis reveals that African American males perceptions of domestic violence are influenced by their experiences witnessing violence as children, family scripts regarding public disclosure of domestic violence, appropriate male behavior regarding females, silence surrounding male victimization by female partners, and parenting female children. Macro-level influencers were also identified including historical trauma associated with the legacy of slavery and violence, police brutality, and economic strife. Participants noted social media’s desensitizing effect on domestic violence, negative biases in media reporting of violence that perpetuate stereotypes of African American as violent and social barriers, stigma, and embarrassment as hinders to seeking help. Recommendations for addressing violence in African American communities reported by participants involved communicating about it with family and friends, educating individuals regarding resources and services available, and holding males and females accountable in ways that support healthy behaviors.

Conclusion and Implications: Findings highlight the importance of encouraging families to talk openly about issues of abuse, seek resources through community-based resources including faith-based organizations, and acknowledging males as victims in need of support.