Spirituality and Coping of the African-American Young Adult Male: A Phenomenological Study

The problem that this study sought was exploring whether having a spiritual basis impacted the lived experiences of several urban African American young adult males as an effective coping tool and/or strategy that resulted in them developing positive adaptive outcomes in their lives as accepted U.S. citizens. Unit of analysis in the study were five young urban African males acting as participants. A qualitative approach based on a phenomenological design was used to discover, understand, and interpret the participants' experiences. The central research question to the study asked, "What role has Christian spirituality played in defining the coping skills needed in the life of young African-American males in the urban community?" Results from the study showed that African-American young adult males in the urban community do connect with and identify with Christian spirituality as a form of coping for them. Future research may require a more in-depth analysis to the role of the church and community in developing the accepted morays from the group further. Also, factors relating socio-economics and a lack therein of positive male role models as mentors may need to be further investigated to determine if they also have a bearing on whether these members of society are successful or not even when controlling for their religious and/or spiritual beliefs and values.