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. 2021 Jun 22;21(1):1194.
doi: 10.1186/s12889-021-11137-5.

Refining Black men's depression measurement using participatory approaches: a concept mapping study

Leslie B Adams  1   2 , Samuel L K Baxter  3 , Alexandra F Lightfoot  4 , Nisha Gottfredson  4 , Carol Golin  4   5 , Leron C Jackson  4 , James Tabron  4 , Giselle Corbie-Smith  6   7 , Wizdom Powell  4   8
Affiliations

Refining Black men's depression measurement using participatory approaches: a concept mapping study

Leslie B Adams et al. BMC Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: Despite cumulative socioeconomic disadvantage and risk factors, Black Americans have a lower prevalence of depression than whites. Given the emerging focus of depression as a public mental health crisis, culturally informed depression measures and scale development techniques are needed to better alleviate the mental health burden of socially marginalized populations. Yet, for Black men, race- and gender-related factors that position emotional vulnerability as a sign of weakness, may potentially mask the timely identification of mental health needs in this population. Thus, we address these gaps by employing a stakeholder-driven, community-engaged process for understanding Black men's depression experience.

Methods: We use concept mapping, a structured mixed methods approach, to determine how stakeholders of Black men's health conceptualize their depressive symptoms. Thirty-six stakeholders participated in a three-phase concept mapping study conducted in 2018. Three separate stakeholder groups were engaged for this study, including Black men, Black women, and primary care providers.

Results: Participants generated 68 characteristics of Black men's depression which were reflected within five conceptual clusters: (1) physical states; (2) emotional states; (3) diminished drive; (4) internal conflicts; (5) communication with others; and (6) social pressures. Using a content analysis approach, we found that items comprising the "social pressures" cluster were not reflected in any common depression scales.

Conclusions: Findings from this study illustrate the similar and divergent pathways in which Black men express depressed mood. Furthermore, concept mapping results also yield a novel opportunity for culturally informed scale development in future research.

Keywords: Black men; Concept mapping; Depression; Measurement; Mental health.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests for this study.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Six-cluster concept map of Black men’s depression characteristics (n = 36)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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