Trauma, Incarceration, and Black Men’s Health in Maryland

Kevin Roy, Ph.D., Associate Professor & Craig Fryer, Ph.D., Associate Professor
School of Public Health

This evidence-based pilot project works closely with formerly incarcerated Black men who are at-risk for continued gun and community violence, as well as drug trafficking, upon reentry back into their families and communities. The research investigates how prior experiences of trauma and violence, as well as incarceration-related trauma, shape the reentry and reintegration pathways of Black men and their families. Using a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach, the research works closely with Black men to investigate their experiences and their strengths-based strategies to counter trauma and violence as they transition — often repeatedly — between correctional facilities and their home communities.

The researchers are conducting life history interviews with 20 Black men in both a social setting and during incarceration to identify traumatic life experiences that have led to depression, other mental and physical health issues, and incarceration and effects of definitions of masculinity on health. A focus group (8 men each) and individual life history interviews are being conducted at a correctional facility and at a barbershop in Prince George’s County. The research seeks to identify how experiences of trauma and violence (including incarceration-related trauma) shape the reentry and reintegration pathways of Black men and their families.

The focus group protocol is a more general discussion-based guide, with a discussion of what men know about trauma (with a focus on violence), how they define it, and what its effects are for men’s health. The individual interview protocol to discuss exposure to violence and traumatic events, including incarceration. Men will also discuss strategies that they have developed to cope with trauma and identify barriers that continue to affect their daily routines in employment, health, and family life.