Trauma-Informed Care: A Focus on African American Men

Abstract

African American males experience high levels of violence-related trauma. They lead all racial groups in fatal and nonfatal violence-related injury. Their responses to trauma may be mediated by personal experiences and/or ecological exposures to prejudice or inequality. Caring for these men encompasses some unique challenges, for example, they may have less overall access to mental health care, may be less likely to seek such resources, and may have lower retention rates in treatment. For this reason, they may present more commonly in general medical/primary care settings, often with physical complaints. Trauma-informed care offers a hopeful approach to caring for African American men and could address disparities in mental health treatment through robust individual provider-patient relationships and health system adaptations that are comprehensive, culturally sensitive, and work to understand institutional relationships with the surrounding community. Interventions that are culturally sensitive and multimodal are the most effective. As the existing literature tends to focus on pediatric and youth settings, this chapter will provide perspective on treating adults.