“You Have to Humanize Your feelings:” Black fathers’ Reflections on How Youth Violence Prevention and Penetrations Influence Their Overall Health and Fathering Practices

Abstract

ABSTRACT In Baton Rouge, LA, and nationally, youth violence is a serious public health problem affecting the lives of community members. Fortunately, Black fathers have responded to the urgent call to prevent youth violence in Louisiana. In 2021, the SUPPORT project was launched to unearth stories of Black fathers’ prevention practices and interventions. Since relationships are embedded within and across various systems, the Social-Ecological Model for Violence Prevention was applied to a semi-structured interview approach to investigate two aims with 12 Black fathers from Baton Rouge: (1) how their experiences with youth violence influence their mental and social health, and their children’s violence exposure, and (2) the benefits of addressing youth violence. Using Braun and Clarke’s (2021) thematic analysis, the three major themes that emerged related to Black fathers’ history with violence were: (1) self-reflexive moments on lessons learned, (2) the impacts of victimization and bullying, and (3) socioemotional responses to youth violence. Related to the second aim, the salutary impact on the neighborhood and improvement of the school community were the major themes that emerged regarding the perceived benefits of addressing youth violence. These findings demonstrate that interviewees are cognizant of how their history of violence led to maladaptive coping mechanisms in response to youth violence and influenced their fathering ideologies; moreover, they were concerned with familial betterment. Further research is needed to deepen understanding of how Black fathers’ socioemotional responses to youth violence impact their wellness and fathering practices as their children mature.