RESILIENCY IN THE BLACK FAMILY
W. HENRY GREGORY, JR. Ph.D.
April, 2007
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to identify and explore the processes by which some Black families rebound from hazardous adversity. Nine families were interviewed for this study. The families experienced suicides, murders, illness and death, incarcerations, child sexual molestation, and the threat of children being taken by the department of social services. A constructivist approach to inquiry was used in this study because of its emphasis on power sharing among investigators and participants and the utility of its theoretical foundations. Five resilience processes, previously identified in the general population were identified as well as four previously unidentified themes. Together the nine themes may imply a culturally specific pattern of handling adversity that exist in Black families.
The five previously identified processes are:
(1) positive outlook;
(2) spirituality;
(3) connectedness;
(4) open expression of emotions; and
(5) meaning making.
The four new processes are:
(1) tenderness: empathy, compassion and forgiveness;
(2) remembering;
(3) gratitude and humility; and
(4) dreaming and clairvoyance.
INTRODUCTION
