Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

They Can’t Breathe: Why Neighborhoods Matter for the Health of African American Men and Boys

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Boys and Men in African American Families

Part of the book series: National Symposium on Family Issues ((NSFI,volume 7))

Abstract

Family influences on the health of African American men and boys must be considered in tandem with those produced by broader social ecologic exposures. The purpose of this chapter is to make the case for exploring the impact of neighborhoods on health risk-taking (e.g., substance abuse) among African American males during emerging adulthood, when substance use escalates. The central hypothesis, grounded in the Phenomenological Variant of Ecological Systems Theory (PVEST), and psychobiological models of stress, coping, and risk-taking, is that neighborhoods with high violence, alcohol, and drug activity instigate substance use through increased daily stress experiences, leading in turn to higher negative affect, emotion suppression, and dysregulated cortisol and testosterone. We place our arguments in the context of recent high profile deaths of African American males (e.g., Eric Garner) and discuss ways to advance future neighborhoods-level research with African American males as they transition to adulthood.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 119.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Allison, K., Crawford, I., Leone, P., Trickett, E., Perez-Febles, A., Burton, L., et al. (1999). Adolescent substance use: Preliminary examinations of school and neighborhood context. American Journal of Community Psychology, 27(2), 111–141.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aneshensel, C. S., & Sucoff, C. A. (1996). The neighborhood context of adolescent mental health. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 37(4), 293–310.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arnett, J. J. (2000). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. American Psychologist, 55(5), 469–480.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arnett, J. J. (2005). Developmental context of substance use in emerging adulthood. Journal of Drug Issues, 35(2), 235–254.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arnett, J. J. (2008). A fraught passage: The identity challenges of African American adults. Human Development, 51(5–6), 291–293.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arnett, J. J. (2014). Emerging adulthood: The winding road from the late teens through the twenties (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Berkman, L. F., Glass, T., Brissette, I., & Seeman, T. E. (2000). From social integration to health: Durkheim in the new millennium. Social Science and Medicine, 51(6), 843–857.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boardman, J. D. (2004). Stress and physical health: The role of neighborhoods as mediating and moderating mechanisms. Social Science and Medicine, 58(12), 2473–2483.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boardman, J. D., Finch, B. K., Ellison, C. G., Williams, D. R., & Jackson, J. S. (2001). Neighborhood disadvantage, stress, and drug use among adults. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 42(2), 151–165.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bolland, J., Bryant, C., Lian, B., McCallum, D., Vazsonyi, A., & Barth, J. (2007). Development and risk behavior among African American, Caucasian, and mixed-race adolescents living in high poverty inner-city neighborhoods. American Journal of Community Psychology, 40(3), 230–249.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bonanno, G. A., Papa, A., Lalande, K., Westphal, M., & Coifman, K. (2004). The importance of being flexible: The ability to both enhance and suppress emotional expression predicts long-term adjustment. Psychological Science, 15(7), 482–487.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bosson, J. K., Vandello, J. A., Burnaford, R. M., Weaver, J. R., & Wasti, S. A. (2009). Precarious manhood and displays of physical aggression. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 35(5), 623–634. doi:10.1177/0146167208331161.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boyce, W. T. (2007). A biology of misfortune: Stress reactivity, social context, and the ontogeny of psychopathology early in life. In A. S. Masten (Ed.), Multilevel dynamics in developmental psychology: Pathways to the future (pp. 45–82). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boyce, W. T., & Ellis, B. J. (2005). Biological sensitivity to context: I. An evolutionary-developmental theory of the origins and functions of stress reactivity. Developmental Psychopathology, 17(2), 271–301.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brady, S. S. (2006). Lifetime community violence exposure and health risk behavior among young adults in college. Journal of Adolescent Health, 39(4), 610–613.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brody, G., Ge, X., Conger, R., Gibbons, F. X., Murry, V., Gerrard, M., et al. (2001). The influence of neighborhood disadvantage, collective socialization, and parenting on African American children’s affiliation with deviant peers. Child Development, 72(4), 1231–1246.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Browning, C., Leventhal, T., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2004). Neighborhood context and racial differences in early adolescent sexual activity. Demography, 41(4), 697–720.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Browning, C., Leventhal, T., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2005). Sexual initiation in early adolescence: The nexus of parental and community control. American Sociological Review, 70(5), 758–778.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality. (2011). Results from the 2010 national survey on drug use and health: Summary of national findings. Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. http://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/NSDUHNationalFindingsResults2010-web/2k10ResultsRev/NSDUHresultsRev2010.pdf.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chuang, Y., Ennett, S., Bauman, K., & Foshee, V. (2005). Neighborhood influences on adolescent cigarette and alcohol use: Mediating effects through parent and peer behaviors. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 46(2), 187–204.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clarke, P., Morenoff, J., Debbink, M., Golberstein, E., Elliott, M. R., & Lantz, P. M. (2014). Cumulative exposure to neighborhood context: Consequences for health transitions over the adult life course. Research on Aging, 36(1), 115–142. doi:10.1177/0164027512470702.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cockerham, W. C. (1990). A test of the relationship between race, socioeconomic status, and psychological distress. Social Science and Medicine, 31(12), 1321–1326. doi:10.1016/0277-9536(90)90071-y.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Compas, B. E. (2006). Psychobiological processes of stress and coping: Implications for resilience in children and adolescents—Comments on the papers of Romeo & McEwen and Fisher et al. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1094(1), 226–234. doi:10.1196/annals.1376.024.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Copeland-Linder, N., Lambert, S., Chen, Y.-F., & Ialongo, N. (2011). Contextual stress and health risk behaviors among African American adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 40(2), 158–173. doi:10.1007/s10964-010-9520-y.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Courtenay, W. H. (2000). Constructions of masculinity and their influence on men’s well-being: A theory of gender and health. Social Science and Medicine, 50(10), 1385–1401.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cubbin, C., Santelli, J., Brindis, C. D., & Braveman, P. (2005). Neighborhood context and sexual behaviors among adolescents: Findings from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 37(3), 125–134.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Haan, M., Gunnar, M. R., Tout, K., Hart, J., & Stansbury, K. (1998). Familiar and novel contexts yield different associations between cortisol and behavior among 2-year-old children. Developmental Psychobiology, 33(1), 93–101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Visser, R. O., & Smith, J. A. (2007). Alcohol consumption and masculine identity among young men. Psychology and Health, 22(5), 595–614.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Wit, H., Vicini, L., Childs, E., Sayla, M. A., & Terner, J. (2007). Does stress reactivity or response to amphetamine predict smoking progression in young adults? A preliminary study. Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior, 86(2), 312–319.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diez-Roux, A. V. (2001). Investigating neighborhood and area effects on health. American Journal of Public Health, 91(11), 1783–1789.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diez-Roux, A. V. (2007). Neighborhoods and health: Where are we and were do we go from here? Revue d’Epidémiologie et de Santé Publique, 55(1), 13–21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dodge, K. A., & Pettit, G. S. (2003). A biopsychosocial model of the development of chronic conduct problems in adolescence. Developmental Psychology, 39(2), 349–371.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duncan, S. C., Duncan, T. E., & Strycker, L. A. (2002). A multilevel analysis of neighborhood context and youth alcohol and drug problems. Prevention Science, 3(2), 125–133.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dunkley, C. M. (2009). A therapeutic taskscape: Theorizing place-making, discipline and care at a camp for troubled youth. Health and Place, 15(1), 88–96.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dupere, V., Lacourse, E., Willms, J., Leventhal, T., & Tremblay, R. (2008). Neighborhood poverty and early transition to sexual activity in young adolescents: A developmental ecological approach. Child Development, 79(5), 1463–1476.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dworkin, J. (2005). Risk taking as developmentally appropriate experimentation for college students. Journal of Adolescent Research, 20(2), 219–241. doi:10.1177/0743558404273073.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Edwards, B., & Bromfield, L. M. (2009). Neighborhood influences on young children’s conduct problems and pro-social behavior: Evidence from an Australian national sample. Children and Youth Services Review, 31(3), 317–324.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elliott, M. (2000). The stress process in neighborhood context. Health and Place, 6(4), 287–299.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Else-Quest, N. M., Hyde, J. S., Goldsmith, H. H., & Van Hulle, C. A. (2006). Gender differences in temperament: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 132(1), 33–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ennett, S. T., Flewelling, R. L., Lindrooth, R. C., & Norton, E. C. (1997). School and neighborhood characteristics associated with school rates of alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 38(1), 55–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Epstein, D. H., Marrone, G. F., Heishman, S. J., Schmittner, J., & Preston, K. L. (2010). Tobacco, cocaine, and heroin: Craving and use during daily life. Addictive Behaviors, 35(4), 318–324.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Epstein, D. H., & Preston, K. L. (2010). Daily life hour by hour, with and without cocaine: An ecological momentary assessment study. Psychopharmacology, 211(2), 223–232. doi:10.1007/s00213-010-1884-x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Epstein, D. H., Tyburski, M., Craig, I. M., Phillips, K. A., Jobes, M. L., Vahabzadeh, M., et al. (2014). Real-time tracking of neighborhood surroundings and mood, in urban drug misusers: Application of a new method to study behavior in its geographical context. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 134, 22–29. doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2013.09.007.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Epstein, D. H., Willner-Reid, J., Vahabzadeh, M., Mezghanni, M., Lin, J., & Preston, K. L. (2009). Real-time electronic diary reports of cue exposure and mood in the hours before cocaine and heroin craving and use. Archives of General Psychiatry, 66(1), 88–94. doi:10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2008.509.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fergus, S., Zimmerman, M. A., & Caldwell, C. H. (2007). Growth trajectories of sexual risk behavior in adolescence and young adulthood. American Journal of Public Health, 97(6), 1096–1101. doi:10.2105/ajph.2005.074609.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fernald, L. C., & Grantham-McGregor, S. M. (1998). Stress response in school-age children who have been growth retarded since early childhood. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 68(3), 691–698.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fox, G. L. (1977). Sex-role attitudes as predictors of contraceptive use among unmarried university students. Sex Roles, 3(3), 265–283.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gadea, M., Gómez, C., González-Bono, E., Espert, R., & Salvador, A. (2005). Increased cortisol and decreased right ear advantage (REA) in dichotic listening following a negative mood induction. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 30(2), 129–138.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gee, G. C., & Payne-Sturges, D. C. (2004). Environmental health disparities: A framework integrating psychosocial and environmental concepts. Environmental Health Perspective, 112(17), 1645–1653.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gibbons, F. X., Etcheverry, P. E., Stock, M. L., Gerrard, M., Weng, C.-Y., Kiviniemi, M., et al. (2010). Exploring the link between racial discrimination and substance use: What mediates? What buffers? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 99(5), 785–801.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gibbons, F. X., Yeh, H. C., Gerrard, M., Cleveland, M. J., Cutrona, C., Simons, R. L., et al. (2007). Early experience with racial discrimination and conduct disorder as predictors of subsequent drug use: A critical period hypothesis. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 88, S27–S37.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goff, P. A., Di Leone, B. A. L., & Kahn, K. B. (2012). Racism leads to pushups: How racial discrimination threatens subordinate men’s masculinity. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 48(5), 1111–1116.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gross, J. J. (1998a). Antecedent- and response-focused emotion regulation: Divergent consequences for experience, expression, and physiology. Journal of personality and social psychology, 74(1), 224–237. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.74.1.224.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gross, J. J. (1998b). The emerging field of emotion regulation: An integrative review. Review of General Psychology, 2(3), 271–299.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gross, J. J., & Levenson, R. W. (1993). Emotional suppression: Physiology, self-report, and expressive behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64(6), 970–986.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gross, J. J., & Thompson, R. A. (2007). Emotion regulation: Conceptual foundations. In J. J. Gross (Ed.), Handbook of emotion regulation (pp. 3–24). New York, NY: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Halpern, C. T., Udry, J. R., Campbell, B., & Suchindran, C. (1993a). Relationships between aggression and pubertal increases in testosterone: A panel analysis of adolescent males. Social Biology, 40(1-2), 8–24.

    Google Scholar 

  • Halpern, C. T., Udry, J. R., Campbell, B., & Suchindran, C. (1993b). Testosterone and pubertal development as predictors of sexual activity: A panel analysis of adolescent males. Psychosomatic Medicine, 55(5), 436–447.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Halpern, C. T., Udry, J. R., Campbell, B., Suchindran, C., & Mason, G. A. (1994). Testosterone and religiosity as predictors of sexual attitudes and activity among adolescent males: A biosocial model. Journal of Biosocial Science, 26(2), 217–234.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Halpern, C. T., Udry, R., & Suchindran, C. (1998). Monthly measures of salivary testosterone predict sexual activity in adolescent males. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 27(5), 445–465.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hammond, W. P., Fleming, P. J., & Villa-Torres, L. (2016). Everyday racism as a threat to the masculine social self: Framing investigations of African American male health disparities. In Y. J. Wong & S. R. Wester (Eds.), APA handbook of men and masculinities (pp. 259–283). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Hammond, W. P., & Mattis, J. S. (2005). Being a man about it: Manhood meaning among African American men. Psychology of Men and Masculinity, 6(2), 114–126.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • House, J. S., Strecher, V., Metzner, H. L., & Robbins, C. A. (1986). Occupational stress and health among men and women in the Tecumseh Community Health Study. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 27(1), 62–77.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Irwin, C., & Millstein, S. (1992). Risk-taking behaviors and biopsychosocial development during adolescence. In E. J. Susman, L. V. Feagans, & W. J. Ray (Eds.), Emotion, cognition, health, and development in children and adolescents (pp. 75–102). London: Psychology Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jessor, R. (1987). Problem-behavior theory, psychosocial development, and adolescent problem drinking. British Journal of Addiction, 82(4), 331–342.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnston, L. D., O’Malley, P. M., & Bachman, J. G. (2003). Monitoring the future: National survey results on drug use, 1975–2002. Volume II: College students and adults Ages 19–40 (NIH Publications No. 03-5376). Bethesda, MD: National Institute on Drug Abuse.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kagan, J., Reznick, J. S., & Snidman, N. (1987). The physiology and psychology of behavioral inhibition in children. Child Development, 58(6), 1459–1473.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kemeny, M. E., Gruenewald, T. L., & Dickerson, S. S. (2004). Shame as the emotional response to threat to the social self: Implications for behavior, physiology, and health. Psychological Inquiry, 15(2), 153–160.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kessler, R. C., & Neighbors, H. W. (1986). A new perspective on the relationships among race, social class, and psychological distress. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 27(2), 107–115.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kochanek, K. D., Anderson, R., & Arias, E. (2015). Leading causes of death contributing to decrease in life expectancy gap between black and white populations: United States, 1999–2013 (NCHS Data Brief No. 218). Washington, DC: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db218.htm.

  • Kochanek, K. D., Murphy, S. L., Xu, J., & Arias, E. (2014). Mortality in the United States, 2013 (NCHS Data Brief No. 178). Washington, DC: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db178.htm.

  • Kotchick, B., Shaffer, A., Miller, K., & Forehand, R. (2001). Adolescent sexual risk behavior: A multi-system perspective. Clinical Psychology Review, 21(4), 493–519.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ku, L., Sonenstein, F., & Pleck, J. H. (1993). Neighborhood, family, and work: Influences on the premarital behaviors of adolescent males. Social Forces, 72(2), 479–503.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lam, S., Dickerson, S. S., Zoccola, P. M., & Zaldivar, F. (2009). Emotion regulation and cortisol reactivity to a social-evaluative speech task. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 34(9), 1355–1362.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lambert, S., Brown, T., Phillips, C., & Ialongo, N. (2004). The relationship between perceptions of neighborhood characteristics and substance use among urban African American adolescents. American Journal of Community Psychology, 34(3), 205–218.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Laraia, B. A., Messer, L., Kaufman, J. S., Dole, N., Caughy, M., O’Campo, P., et al. (2006). Direct observation of neighborhood attributes in an urban area of the US south: Characterizing the social context of pregnancy. International Journal of Health Geographics, 5(1), 11.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Levant, R. F., Hirsch, L. S., Celentano, E., & Cozz, T. M. (1992). The male role: An investigation of contemporary norms. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 14(3), 325–337.

    Google Scholar 

  • Levant, R. F., Wimer, D., Williams, C., Smalley, K., & Noronha, D. (2009). The relationships between masculinity variables, health risk behaviors and attitudes toward seeking psychological help. International Journal of Men’s Health, 8(1), 3–21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leventhal, T., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2000). The neighborhoods they live in: The effects of neighborhood residence on child and adolescent outcomes. Psychological Bulletin, 126(2), 309–337.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Litt, M. D., Cooney, N. L., & Morse, P. (1998). Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) with treated alcoholics: Methodological problems and potential solutions. Health Psychology, 17(1), 48–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lloyd, D. A., & Turner, R. J. (2008). Cumulative lifetime adversities and alcohol dependence in adolescence and young adulthood. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 93(3), 217–226. doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2007.09.012.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Macrae, C. N., Bodenhausen, G. V., Milne, A. B., & Ford, R. L. (1997). On regulation of recollection: The intentional forgetting of stereotypical memories. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72(4), 709–719.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Magar, E. C. E., Phillips, L. H., & Hosie, J. A. (2008). Self-regulation and risk-taking. Personality and Individual Differences, 45(2), 153–159.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mahalik, J., Lagan, H., & Morrison, J. (2006). Health behaviors and masculinity in Kenyan and U.S. male college students. Psychology of Men and Masculinity, 7(4), 191–202.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mazur, A., & Booth, A. (1998). Testosterone and dominance in men. Behavioural and Brain Sciences, 21(3), 353–363. Discussion 363–397.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Milam, A. J., Furr-Holden, C. D. M., & Leaf, P. (2010). Perceived school and neighborhood safety, neighborhood violence and academic achievement in urban school children. The Urban Review, 42(5), 458–467.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Millar, M. (2005). The effects of perceived stress on reactions to messages designed to increase health behaviors. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 28(5), 425–432. doi:10.1007/s10865-005-9009-4.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O’Campo, P. (2003). Invited commentary: Advancing theory and methods for multilevel models of residential neighborhoods and health. American Journal of Epidemiology, 157(1), 9–13. doi:10.1093/aje/kwf171.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O’Sullivan, L., Hoffman, S., Harrison, A., & Dolezal, C. (2006). Men, multiple sexual partners, and young adults’ sexual relationships: Understanding the role of gender in the study of risk. Journal of Urban Health, 83(4), 695–708.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Office of Applied Studies. (2009). Results from the 2008 national survey on substance abuse and health: National findings. Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. http://archive.samhsa.gov/data/NSDUH/2k8nsduh/2k8results.pdf.

    Google Scholar 

  • Olweus, D., Mattsson, A., Schalling, D., & Low, H. (1980). Testosterone, aggression, physical, and personality dimensions in normal adolescent males. Psychosomatic Medicine, 42(2), 253–269.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Olweus, D., Mattsson, A., Schalling, D., & Low, H. (1988). Circulating testosterone levels and aggression in adolescent males: A causal analysis. Psychosomatic Medicine, 50(3), 261–272.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Phillips, K. A., Epstein, D. H., & Preston, K. L. (2013). Daily temporal patterns of heroin and cocaine use and craving: Relationship with business hours regardless of actual employment status. Addictive Behaviors, 38(10), 2485–2491. doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2013.05.010.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pleck, J., & O’Donnell, L. (2001). Gender attitudes and health risk behaviors in urban African American and Latino early adolescents. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 5(4), 265–272.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pleck, J. H., Sonenstein, F. L., & Ku, L. C. (1994). Problem behaviors and masculinity ideology among adolescent males. In R. D. Ketterlinus & M. E. Lamb (Eds.), Adolescent problem behaviors: Issues and research (pp. 165–186). Hillsdale, MI: Lawrence Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Preston, K. L., Vahabzadeh, M., Schmittner, J., Lin, J.-L., Gorelick, D., & Epstein, D. (2009). Cocaine craving and use during daily life. Psychopharmacology, 207(2), 291–301.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raver, C. C. (2004). Placing emotional self-regulation in sociocultural and socioeconomic contexts. Child Development, 75(2), 346–353. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2004.00676.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rich, J. A., & Grey, C. M. (2005). Pathways to recurrent trauma among young black men: Traumatic stress, substance use, and the “code of the street”. American Journal of Public Health, 95(5), 816–824.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rod, N. H., Grønbæk, M., Schnohr, P., Prescott, E., & Kristensen, T. S. (2009). Perceived stress as a risk factor for changes in health behaviour and cardiac risk profile: A longitudinal study. Journal of Internal Medicine, 266(5), 467–475.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sampson, R. J. (2003). The neighborhood context of well-being. Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, 46(3 Suppl), S53–S64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Santana, M., Raj, A., Decker, M., La Marche, A., & Silverman, J. (2006). Masculine gender roles associated with increased sexual risk and intimate partner violence perpetration among young adult men. Journal of Urban Health, 83(4), 575–585.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schaefer-McDaniel, N., Caughy, M. O., O’Campo, P., & Gearey, W. (2010). Examining methodological details of neighbourhood observations and the relationship to health: A literature review. Social Science and Medicine, 70(2), 277–292. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2009.10.018.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scheier, L. M., Botvin, G. J., & Miller, N. L. (2000). Life events, neighborhood stress, psychosocial functioning, and alcohol use among urban minority youth. Journal of Child and Adolescent Substance Abuse, 9(1), 19–50. doi:10.1300/J029v09n01_02.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schmidt, L. A., Fox, N. A., Rubin, K. H., Sternberg, E. M., Gold, P. W., Smith, C. C., et al. (1997). Behavioral and neuroendocrine responses in shy children. Developmental Psychobiology, 30(2), 127–140.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schulenberg, J., Maggs, J. L., Long, S. W., Sher, K. J., Gotham, H. J., Baer, J. S., et al. (2001). The problem of college drinking: Insights from a developmental perspective. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 25(3), 473–477.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shiffman, S. (2009). Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) in studies of substance use. Psychological Assessment, 21(4), 486.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, J. R. (2015). Unequal burdens of loss: Examining the frequency and timing of homicide deaths experienced by young black men across the life course. American Journal of Public Health, 105(Suppl 3), S483–S490.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spencer, M. B., Dupree, D., & Hartmann, T. (1997). A phenomenological variant of ecological systems theory (PVEST): A self-organization perspective in context. Development and Psychopathology, 9(4), 817–833.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spencer, M. B., McDermott, P. A., Burton, L. M., & Kochman, T. J. (1997). An alternative approach to assessing neighborhood effects on early adolescent achievement and problem behavior. In J. Brooks-Gunn, G. J. Duncan, & J. L. Aber (Eds.), Neighborhood poverty, Volume 2: Policy implications in studying neighborhoods (pp. 145–163). New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stevenson, H. C. (1997). Missed, dissed, and pissed: Making meaning of neighborhood risk, fear and anger management in urban black youth. Cultural Diversity and Mental Health, 3(1), 37–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stockdale, S. E., Wells, K. B., Tang, L., Belin, T. R., Zhang, L., & Sherbourne, C. D. (2007). The importance of social context: Neighborhood stressors, stress-buffering mechanisms, and alcohol, drug, and mental health disorders. Social Science and Medicine, 65(9), 1867–1881. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2007.05.045.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Subramanian, S. V., Chen, J. T., Rehkopf, D. H., Waterman, P. D., & Krieger, N. (2005). Racial disparities in context: A multilevel analysis of neighborhood variations in poverty and excess mortality among black populations in Massachusetts. American Journal of Public Health, 95(2), 260–265. doi:10.2105/ajph.2003.034132.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sullivan, M. L. (2001). Hyperghettos and hypermasculinity: The phenomenology of exclusion. In A. Booth & A. C. Crouter (Eds.), Does it take a village? Community effects on children, adolescents, and families (pp. 96–101). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Susman, E. J. (2006). Psychobiology of persistent antisocial behavior: Stress, early vulnerabilities and the attenuation hypothesis. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 30(3), 376–389.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thorpe, R. J., Jr., Richard, P., Bowie, J. V., LaVeist, T. A., & Gaskin, D. J. (2013). Economic burden of men’s health disparities in the United States. International Journal of Men’s Health, 12(3), 195.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Udry, J. R. (1988). Biological predispositions and social control in adolescent sexual behavior. American Sociological Review, 53(5), 709–722.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Umberson, D., Liu, H., & Reczek, C. (2008). Stress and health behavior over the life course. In H. A. Turner & S. Schieman (Eds.), Stress processes across the life course, advances in life course research (Vol. 13, pp. 19–44). Oxford: Elsevier JAI.

    Google Scholar 

  • Umberson, D., Williams, K., & Anderson, K. (2002). Violent behavior: A measure of emotional upset? Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 43(2), 189–206.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Eck, M., Berkhof, H., Nicolson, N., & Sulon, J. (1996). The effects of perceived stress, traits, mood states, and stressful daily events on salivary cortisol. Psychosomatic Medicine, 58(5), 447–458.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Honk, J., Kessels, R. P. C., Putman, P., Jager, G., Koppeschaar, H. P. F., & Postma, A. (2003). Attentionally modulated effects of cortisol and mood on memory for emotional faces in healthy young males. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 28(7), 941–948.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wegner, D. M., Schneider, D. J., Carter, S. R., & White, T. L. (1987). Paradoxical effects of thought suppression. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53(1), 5–13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wenzlaff, R. M., & Wegner, D. M. (2000). Thought suppression. Annual Review of Psychology, 51(1), 59–91. doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.51.1.59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whitley, B. E. (1988). The relation of gender-role orientation to sexual experience among college students. Sex Roles, 19(9), 619–638.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Widome, R., Sieving, R. E., Harpin, S. A., & Hearst, M. O. (2008). Measuring neighborhood connection and the association with violence in young adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Health, 43(5), 482–489.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wolfers, J., Leonhardt, D., & Quealy, K. (2015a, April 20). 1.5 million missing black men. The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/04/20/upshot/missing-black-men.html. Accessed November 2015.

  • Wolfers, J., Leonhardt, D., & Quealy, K. (2015b, April 20). The methodology: 1.5 million missing black men. The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/21/upshot/the-methodology -1-5-million-missing-black-men.html?src=twr. Accessed November 2015.

  • Wong, C. F., Kipke, M. D., Weiss, G., & McDavitt, B. (2010). The impact of recent stressful experiences on HIV-risk related behaviors. Journal of Adolescence, 33(3), 463–475.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgment

The first author is currently supported by the National Institutes on Drug Abuse (Grant # 1K01 DA032611-01A1) and the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (Grant # L60 MD010134). The second author is supported by a fellowship from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health (Award Number T32A1007001).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of North Carolina, Gillings School of Global Public Health, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Wizdom A. Powell, Tamara Taggart, Jennifer Richmond, Leslie B. Adams & Andre Brown

Authors
  1. Wizdom A. Powell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Tamara Taggart
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jennifer Richmond
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Leslie B. Adams
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Andre Brown
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Wizdom A. Powell .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Trinity College of Arts and Science, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA

    Linda M. Burton

  2. Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

    Dorian Burton

  3. Social Science Research Institute, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA

    Susan M. McHale

  4. Department of Sociology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA

    Valarie King

  5. Department of Sociology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA

    Jennifer Van Hook

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Powell, W.A., Taggart, T., Richmond, J., Adams, L.B., Brown, A. (2016). They Can’t Breathe: Why Neighborhoods Matter for the Health of African American Men and Boys. In: M. Burton, L., Burton, D., M. McHale, S., King, V., Van Hook, J. (eds) Boys and Men in African American Families. National Symposium on Family Issues, vol 7. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-43847-4_14

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation