Understanding Coping Strategies and Sociocultural Context in Black Americans' Mental Health

Using a sociocultural coping framework, we examined stressors and coping strategies among N = 65 Black adults with varying levels of cultural mistrust, which is defined as an attitudinal response to racism.

We conducted an abductive structural tabular thematic analysis on short-form qualitative responses to a Black mental health survey.

Participants reported several stressors (e.g., family, finances, occupation) and primarily active coping strategies including institutional mechanisms, such as religion.

Findings suggest that Black adults, regardless of cultural mistrust levels, actively cope despite stressors informed by their sociocultural context (e.g., race, gender, socioeconomic status) and barriers to treatment. Considering these factors, providers can work to enhance the established coping mechanisms, while integrating them into culturally responsive care, rather than remove them.