Date of Conferral
December 2023
Date of Award
Summer 2024
Degree
Ph.D.
School
Psychology
Abstract
African immigrant men living in the United States experience the process of acculturation and encounter varying stressors while adjusting to their new society. Despite the growing population of African immigrant men living in the United States, research on acculturative stress and coping excluded first-generation African immigrant men. The purpose of this descriptive phenomenological study was to examine the lived experiences of African immigrant men, the types of acculturative stress experienced, and the coping skills used in managing acculturative stress while living in the United States. Berry’s acculturation theory provided the framework for the study. Data were collected from 10 semistructured individual interviews with participants over 18 years old. Giorgi’s descriptive phenomenological guidelines were used to guide the analysis plan. The study results showed that five themes include cultural shock, social isolation, unmatched expectations, self-efficacy, and connectedness and belonging. Cultural shock, social isolation, and unmatched expectations were linked to the acculturative stress experienced by participants, and self-efficacy, and connectedness and belonging were connected with the coping skills developed by participants. The results identified opportunities for positive social change with professionals to advocate for culturally sensitive care and gender-specific programs for African immigrant men living in the United States.
