Black Men And Divorce: Implications For Culturally Competent Practice

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

Most (70%) of the respondents' children had experienced difficulties post-divorce. These difficulties ranged from minor behavioral problems to serious self-destructive behavior. Two respondents reported that their children had begun to use and sell illicit drugs. The teenaged daughters of 3 men had delivered babies, and another reported that his teenaged daughter had had an abortion. One respondent vowed: "I will invest energy to make my daughter's and granddaughter's lives better."

The men, meanwhile, dreamed of the future, a time when life would be less stressful, and when they would have time to "enjoy life and do what we want to do." They also fantasized of a time when they no longer would have to constantly prove themselves respectable to others due to the color of their skin. Finally, they envisioned a period when they would no longer cope with pain as their mind raced over the past and back to the future.

Culturally Competent Health Care Practice

Health care practitioners are in a unique position to help black men cope with the pain of divorce and focus public attention on the consequences of black marital dissolution.

1. Promote Culturally Competent Patient/Provider Relationships

Health care providers should be aware of the historical and social experiences of social marginality and racial oppression that divorced black men confront. For example, the continual subjection to racial stereotypes as well as economic and social disfranchisement are constant mental health hazards.

Empower black men to develop skills to decrease the stress of divorce. Such skills can also reduce the incidence of self-destructive behaviors. Health care practitioners should refer black men undergoing divorce to culturally sensitive counselors.

Develop compassion for black divorced men by understanding the meaning of divorce to a black man and the negative impact that it can have.

Be aware that the socialization of black males often produces a particular coping style that works against black men in certain circumstances. For example, black men often fail to acknowledge the personal vulnerability associated with divorce and fail to report psychological distress. Thus, clinicians should be attentive to physiological complaints as symptoms of mental distress and screen for clinical depression.

Some of the reluctance of black divorced men to seek help from health professionals may be due in part to the medical mistreatment and malpractice of the Tuskegee syphilis study. In this study, administered by the US Public Health Service and conducted from 1932 to 1972, 399 black men were denied treatment for syphilis and deceived as to the study's purpose. The legacy is that some black divorced men may discount the benefits of health care as well as the value of psychological therapeutic intervention.

2. Encourage Alternative Theoretical Frameworks

The knowledge base that is essential for serving the mental health needs of racial/ethnic communities of color is limited. It is crucial that health care providers view non-traditional therapeutic practices, such as reliance on spirituality, family support, and involvement in civic/community organizations, as therapeutic mental interventions for black men.