Afrocentric Cultural Norms, Mental Health Functioning, and the Perception of Intimate Partner Violence Among Young Black Men

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a serious public health concern that profoundly impacts the lives of women globally. While IPV cuts across race, socioeconomic status, age groups, and geography, Black women are disproportionately affected. Prior studies report that Black women predominantly couple with Black men and thus, understanding factors associated with IPV perpetration among Black men is essential. Subsequently, the present study explored an important gap in the literature, exploring how collectivism, a core belief ascribed to Afrocentric cultural norms, and factors associated with mental health functioning in emerging adult Black men in the USA is associated with their views of IPV. Data for the study was drawn from a sample of self-identifying Black American males between the ages of 18 and 25 (n=300). Regression analysis demonstrated no significant relationship between age, household income, and education level among participants. Anxiety had a significant relationship with intimate partner beliefs with participants with increased anxiety having more problematic intimate partner beliefs. A model including anxiety, collectivism, and aggressiveness was a significant predictor of problematic intimate partner beliefs. In the final model, collectivism and aggressiveness were statistically significant predictors of perceptions endorsing IPV. Participants who reported higher levels of global aggressive confrontation with others were more likely to endorse IPV. Overall, participants with a sense of value for collectivism over individualism were least likely to endorse IPV. This study provides evidence that cultural norms potentially have a role in Black men’s beliefs about IPV. Implications for future research are provided.