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A Qualitative Analysis of Father–Son Relationships among HIV-Positive Young Black Men Who Have Sex with Men

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Abstract

Young black men who have sex with men (YBMSM) are experiencing high and rising rates of HIV infection, more than any other age-risk group category in the USA. Contributors to HIV risk in this group remain incompletely elucidated. We conducted exploratory qualitative interviews with 20 HIV-positive YBMSM aged 17–24 and found that father–son relationships were perceived to be important sociocontextual influences in participants’ lives. Participants discussed the degree of their fathers’ involvement in their lives, emotional qualities of the father–son relationship, communication about sex, and masculine socialization. Participants also described pathways linking father–son relationships to HIV risk, which were mediated by psychological and situational risk scenarios. Our thematic analysis suggests that father–son relationships are important to the psychosocial development of YBMSM, with the potential to either exacerbate or attenuate sexual risk for HIV. Interventions designed to strengthen father–son relationships may provide a promising direction for future health promotion efforts in this population.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank first and foremost the 20 young men who shared their lives with us in such candid and poignant fashion. We would also like to acknowledge the staff of the Ponce Family and Youth Clinic for their enthusiastic assistance with participant recruitment and provision of private spaces to conduct the interviews. We also thank Dr. Carlos del Rio for his input in the general study design and execution. This study was supported by the Emory Center for AIDS Research (P30 AI050409).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hubert Department of Global Health, Rollins School of Public Health of Emory University, 1518 Clifton Rd NE, Atlanta, GA, 30329, USA

    Sophia A. Hussen & Karen Andes

  2. Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Sophia A. Hussen

  3. Department of Behavioral Science and Health Education, Rollins School of Public Health of Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Danielle Gilliard

  4. Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Cleopatra H. Caldwell

  5. Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Rana Chakraborty

  6. Division of Student Health Services, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    David J. Malebranche

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  1. Sophia A. Hussen
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  6. David J. Malebranche
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Correspondence to Sophia A. Hussen.

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Hussen, S.A., Gilliard, D., Caldwell, C.H. et al. A Qualitative Analysis of Father–Son Relationships among HIV-Positive Young Black Men Who Have Sex with Men. J Urban Health 91, 776–792 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-013-9864-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-013-9864-1

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