Black Men And Divorce: Implications For Culturally Competent Practice

Minority Health Today, July, 2000 by Erma Jean Lawson, Tanya L. Sharpe

Divorce takes a particularly heavy toll on black men, resulting in mental health problems that commonly present as physiological symptoms

Introduction

The structure of the black family has undergone significant change over the past 30 year. [1,3] One dramatic aspect has been a loosening of the marital bonds. The proportion of black couples who have divorced has increased, and the proportion of black couples who have married has declined. [1] Two thirds of all black marriages end in divorce, and 2 of 3 black children will experience the dissolution of their parents' marriage by the time they reach age 16. [4]

The increased divorce rate among blacks has contributed to a decrease in the number of black 2-parent families. In 1970, 68% of black families had both the husband and wife present. This number dropped to just 50% in 1990, a decrease of 18 percentage points over 20 years, compared with a 6-percentage-point decrease over the same time period for white families. [5] Black wives and husbands are also more likely to separate. Sixteen percent of black couples between the ages of 18 and 44 have separated, versus 4% of comparable white couples. [4] Racial differences in divorce and separation rates persist, independent of education and parental marital status. [1,6-9]

Divorce necessitates tremendous psychological, social, and economic adjustments. There is the severance of complex marital bonds, negotiation of child custody arrangements, and adjustment to a single lifestyle. [10-12]

Divorce also has health consequences. Increases in the use of alcohol, nicotine, and illicit drugs; hypertension; and even suicide can result following divorce. [13] Compared with their married counterparts, divorced men are especially at risk. Divorced men have a lower life expectancy and experience a poorer prognosis following a medical diagnosis. [13] To date, though, few studies have focused specifically on the health consequences of divorce among black men.

Health care professionals can play an important role in addressing the impact of marital dissolution on black men. First, they are in a strategic position to recognize the similarities and differences of divorce between white and black males and to individualize treatment. Second, health care practitioners are in a unique position to uncover anxiety disorders. These disorders, especially in black men, often go undetected and untreated. [12,14,15] This article considers the physiological and psychological consequences of divorce among working/middle-class black men (Table 1) and examines the implications for health care practitioners.

Methods Sample Selection

A total of 50 black men who had been divorced for no more than 3 years were interviewed for this study. The men were located through black organizations, such as the Urban League and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and through black churches. Recruitment was restricted to: (a) men who were currently divorced and had not remarried; (b) men who were currently in the labor force; (c) men who had experienced just one divorce; and (d) men who had been married for at least 2 years. All of the men contacted agreed to participate.

Sample Characteristics

Approximately one third (34%) of the study respondents were between 40 and 44 years old. Most (70%) had 1 to 2 years of college education. Nearly half (45%) reported annual incomes between $30 000 and $50 000. Only 20% had been raised by 2 parents. Nearly one third (32%) had married women who had borne the couple's children prior to their marriages. All of the respondents were parents. Over half (56%) had been married for 10 to 15 years and had been divorced between 1 and 3 years. With one exception, the men indicated that the mothers had custody of the children. Table 2 shows that the sample consisted of middle-aged, working/middle-class black men who were recently divorced for the first time and were parents.

Interviews

The data were collected through face-to-face interviews. These interviews were conducted in the settings of the men's choice by a black man himself divorced. The interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed. The average length of each verbatim transcript was between 30 and 40 single-spaced pages.

Use of an open-ended interview format offers several advantages. It illuminates aspects of divorce that cannot be ascertained in programmed format and allows discussion of issues that closed-ended questionnaires may fail to consider.

The data were coded for the respondent's assumptions, meanings, feelings, actions, and beliefs surrounding post-divorce distress. Categories for analysis were then developed and refined. The ideas and behaviors revealed in the data were reviewed to discern patterns. It was also noted when during the interviews the respondents cried or laughed. A test of inter-rated reliability using a random selection of items from each of the final themes revealed a 90% agreement between 2 independent raters.

Participant Observation

Participant observation of each respondent's social world was conducted over a 2-year period. Participant observation methodology is defined as observation of behavior within natural settings. The men provided lists of places they frequently visited, and researchers visited those places. The settings included church services, meetings at black lodges, fraternity meetings, and community and social events. The participant observations validated information gathered from the interviews.