Resilience theory has been
suggested as a strong framework for research on HIV prevention among men who
have sex with men (MSM). Among this population, literature indicates that
African American/Black MSM are particularly vulnerable to health and social
disparities associated with HIV transmission risk. Conceptualizing resilience
as a part of one’s social environment, this qualitative study investigates the
specific elements of resilience, and the associated contexts and relationships,
among a sample of 21 substance-using African American/Black MSM. Data indicate
that: 1) elements contributing to resilience are multiple and co-occurring,
including inner strengths, social relationships, diversity of experience,
religion/spirituality, altruism, and creativity; 2) as an element of
resilience, social support was experienced differently among men who did and
did not have supportive relationships with other gay and bisexual men, which
has implications for social service provision and intervention approaches; and
3) diversity of experiences and relationships is an important influencing
factor on expressions of resilience. Social services or interventions that
facilitate the development of these elements of resilience will likely be
especially beneficial for vulnerable African American/Black MSM.
… The primary elements of resilience, as described during
the interviews were inner strengths, social relationships, diversity of
experience, religion/spirituality, altruism, and creativity. The data were
themed in order to illustrate the distinct elements of resilience. Yet, men’s
discussions of resilience indicate that key elements are interwoven, with each
one contributing to a unified whole. Religion/spirituality is a key theme that
illustrates how elements of resilience are interwoven. For many men, the distinction
between internal assets and external resources was somewhat blurry. Men
described the positive influence of religion and spirituality on the
development and utilization of inner strengths. At the same time, religion and
spirituality provides external resources for these men including social support
and relationships and basic needs.
Similarly, the influence of
diversity is woven into the development and expression of resilience. As is
seen in the interviews, diversity allows men to see other ways of understanding
the world, and thus, not being so constrained by the political, economic, or
social structures in which they are embedded. While diversity is not apparent
in the literature as an element of resilience, descriptions from men in the
study indicate that it is an important influencing factor in the development of
resilience. Diversity plays a role in drawing attention to and revealing the
existence of resources, in addition to fostering resourcefulness and agency
necessary to obtain needed resources.
External resources,
especially social relationships, were also key elements of resilience. Sources
of social support, however, varied somewhat among the respondents. Though a
small number of men described connections with other gay men, for a large majority
of respondents, supportive social relationships were found with non-gay
individuals, such as family members or co-workers. This difference could
potentially be an important aspect in the expression of resilience among MSM.
The study of resilience must address the questions of when, how, and for whom
resources matter (Panter-Brick, 2014); thus, further study of
this phenomenon, comparing men who do and do not have supportive relationships
with other gay individuals, may generate useful information about the
expression of resilience as it relates to providing social services and
developing interventions designed to facilitate resilient outcomes. Such a
study would be especially relevant given the recently proposed hypothesis from
HIV prevention researchers that connection to a sexual minority community may
be a key element of resilience for MSM (Herrick et al., 2014).
A small number of men
expressed that their supportive social relationships were with other gay or
bisexual men. For these respondents, individual agency was expressed by seeking
out and making connections to the gay community and creating a social
environment in which their sexual orientation or same-sex behaviors could be
freely disclosed. Thus, social support was more accessible for these men in a
culturally meaningful way than for other men. Yet, future research on
resilience among this population may do well to examine how the expression of
individual agency could be expanded to negotiate for structural changes that
contribute to health and social disparities. Such an approach would focus on
the availability of resources, such as culturally-meaningful social support, in
addition to the resourcefulness and agency of MSM to change their social
environment (Panter-Brick, 2014). As has been noted by
others, such a model that is focused on “changing the odds” in one’s social
environment is preferable to one in which individuals simply “beat the odds”
stacked against them (Panter-Brick 2014, p. 441; Ungar, 2008, pp. 220–221). Moreover,
understanding resilience in this way would likely benefit the development of
structural interventions or community approaches to ending the HIV epidemic
among this population…
Full article at: http://goo.gl/bdHJwk
By:
Mance E. Buttram, Center for Applied Research on
Substance Use and Health Disparities, Nova Southeastern University, 2 NE40th Street,
Suite 404, Miami, FL 33137, Tel: 305-571-2774; Fax: 305-571-8468, Email: ude.avon@marttub.ecnam;
More at: https://twitter.com/hiv insight
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