Date of Conferral

2-27-2025

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Criminal Justice

Advisor

Derrick Jones

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the lived experiences of single African American mothers raising males and their association with criminal behavior. The nature of this research was phenomenological. This cross-sectional study, informed by the general strain theory, explored the effects of stress and strain from adversity and systematic racism on the criminality of African American male adolescents. The key research question was: In what ways do African American single mothers view their part and the part of their socio-economic context as contributing to the criminalization of their sons? A phenomenological research approach was used, and the said participants were African American single mothers; seven participants were interviewed. The interviews were conducted through Zoom platform. Once the data was collected, it was analyzed using NVIVO. The findings related to this study identified the difficulty and burden that African American single mothers experience while raising their sons. Based on the results, it can be deduced that mothers are always stressed because of being the primary caregiver of their male adolescent, especially given the numerous socioeconomic and system challenges that can lead to their sons becoming involved in crimes. The potential for a positive social change could result in a more nurturing environment for African American mothers raising males. It concerns how these mothers understanding their roles and surroundings can help mothers guide their sons from a life of criminalization.

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