Masculinity and Afrocentric Worldview: Assessing Risk and Protective Factors of Self-Reliance and Ubuntu on Young Black Men's Suicide Ideation

Background: In the United States, young Black men are disproportionately represented among those experiencing disabling and persistent episodes of emotional distress that, when left untreated, correlate to a higher incidence of premature mortality. Past literature suggests particularly for Black men, gender norms of Western masculinity, specifically of self-reliance, may also be an underlying factor. Conversely, an Afrocentric worldview among Black Americans has been demonstrated to have an important buffering effect against forms of emotional distress. The Afrocentric construct Ubuntu, which comprises humanness, compassion, and interdependence, has been well discussed as an important cultural factor providing mental health buffering effects. Still, while prior research has established a positive relationship between Afrocentric values and psychological well-being, there remains a scarcity of research specific to the relationship between the Afrocentric worldview and Black American suicide protective factors. Thus, the present study addressed gaps in the literature by examining associations between Ubuntu, self-reliance, and suicide ideation among emerging adult Black American men ages 18-24.

Methods: Researchers conducted a national cross-sectional online survey of self-identifying Black American young adult men aged 18 -24 (N= 428) from June to July 2022 using Qualtrics Panels, a leading enterprise survey technology platform. To measure suicide ideation, a single screening question on suicide risk from the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) was utilized. To measure Ubuntu, Matsuzawa’s (2020) Ubuntu African Humanism scale was used. Self-reliance was measured with the self-reliance scale of the Conformity to Masculine Norms Inventory (Mahalik et al., 2003). Analytically, logistic regression analysis was employed to identify potential correlates between Ubuntu and suicide ideation considering the control variables of the study (i.e., age, socioeconomic status), with results reported as odds ratio (OR) along with corresponding 95% confidence intervals —associations with p-values equal to or less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant.

Results: The ordinal logistic regression model showed a correct classification of 76.5%, R² = .45, χ²(5) = 69.82, p < .001. The change of reporting suicide ideation was higher among participants who reported more reported more self-reliance (OR = 1.28, p = .042), while it was lower among participants who reported more Ubuntu (OR = 0.61, p = .025). Results demonstrated that after controlling for the role of household income, and age, increasing values of self-reliance corresponded to increased odds of suicide ideation among participants. On the other hand, increased values of Ubuntu corresponded to decreasing odds of suicide ideation.

Discussion: The findings of this study are consistent with previous research on the role of masculinity norms as risk factors associated with suicide ideation in Black American men. Additionally, these findings advance proof of mechanism scholarship of the role Afrocentric norms may have as a protective factor in the Mental health of Black men. Overall, study findings have implications for future research, implications for suicide prevention practice, and institutional policies.