Psychosocial Influences on African American Men Who Viewed Videos of Police Killing Unarmed African American Men

The strained relationship between the African American community and law enforcement is not a new phenomenon. However, these interactions have become a focal point in research given the current use of smartphones and other technologies that capture video footage of these interactions, including those that result in the fatality of an African American male. The purpose and research questions of this phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of African American men and how their psychosocial development is influenced by watching videos of unarmed African American men being killed by police. The research questions were: What is the experience of African American men who have viewed videos of police-involved killings of unarmed African American men; What are the psychosocial influences for African American men who have viewed videos of police-involved killings of unarmed African American men? Erikson’s psychosocial development theory and Figley’s theory of secondary traumatic stress guided the study. Seven African American men who had watched videos of unarmed African American men being killed by police were recruited through purposeful sampling. Participants were interviewed using a semistructured interview format via Zoom. Moustakas’s steps for phenomenological analysis were used to analyze the data. Seven themes were identified that addressed the research questions: emotional experiences, perspective of law enforcement, videos viewed, actions taken, media, perspective of self, and similarity to the victim. The findings may contribute to positive social change by increasing awareness of the unique experiences of African American men and may contribute to policy changes and improvement in therapeutic services.