Exploring Trauma and African American Male Victims of Intimate Partner Violence

This qualitative phenomenological study aimed to examine the experiences of heterosexual African American men from Georgia who are victims of IPV. This study aims to identify barriers that hinder survivors from reporting their trauma and seeking mental health services and resources. The theoretical framework utilized for this research study is Intersectional Theory. Using Intersectionality as a theoretical lens for this research study allows for a greater understanding of the multiple components and experiences that shape the identity of the African American man. This qualitative phenomenological study answered the following central research questions: “In what ways do African American male victims of Intimate partner violence describe their experiences?” Data was collected from 8 heterosexual African American men who are survivors of female-perpetrated IPV. This study included participants who were African American, male, ages 21-45, and have experienced intimate partner violence (this includes any behavior within an intimate relationship (married, unmarried, and live-in) that causes physical, psychological, or sexual harm to those in that relationship). The research findings identified six themes and two subthemes to address the experiences of African American male victims of IPV and barriers to seeking services. The study's results suggested that African American men experience multiple internal and external components influencing self-perception, self-identity, masculinity, interpersonal relationships, and help-seeking behaviors. The findings better explain heterosexual African American men's experiences and the barriers that foster or hinder their behaviors for seeking help. This study provided recommendations for future research on the impact of trauma and the psychological and physiological factors related to the lived experiences of heterosexual African American male survivors of IPV. This study could benefit the field of family violence counseling, anger management training, emotionally focused therapy, and family systems counseling training to help expand access to appropriate and inclusive counseling interventions for heterosexual African American male survivors of IPV. These recommendations will help expand access to applicable counseling interventions for African American men, their families, the church, and administrative agencies. Also, this study could benefit mental health professionals working with individuals in this population to improve help-seeking attitudes. Overall, the research findings revealed perspective, understanding and insight for heterosexual African American men.