“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

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 spe...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of religion and health 2022-08, Vol.61 (4), p.3076-3097
Main Authors: Lassiter, Jonathan Mathias, Mims, Ivie
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome
Aging
AIDS
Behavior
Clinical Psychology
Consciousness
Emotions
Health disparities
HIV
Homosexuality, Male - psychology
Human immunodeficiency virus
Humans
Male
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Mental Health
Oppression
Original Paper
Psychology
Public Health
Religion
Religious Studies
Sexual and Gender Minorities
Sexual health
Spirituality
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Summary: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.
ISSN:0022-4197
1573-6571
DOI:10.1007/s10943-021-01297-4