“Wanting to Feel Safe Was Unsafe”: A Qualitative Study of Black Men’s Perceptions of Mental Health and Resilience in the Context of Community Violence Exposure

Abstract

Black men’s community violence exposure (CVE) is often framed through deficit-based lenses that obscure adaptation, meaning-making, and resilience. Using a qualitative descriptive design grounded in a social constructivist epistemology and guided by the Social Ecological Model, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 18 Black men aged 22–34 living across U.S. regions. Data were analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s reflexive thematic analysis, which generated four themes: Keeping My Head on a Swivel: Hypervigilance and Safety; Violence Is Everywhere; Community Protective Factors; and Creating Resiliency in the Face of Adversity. Participants described hypervigilance as a form of adaptive safety work that carried psychological and embodied costs. They also described violence as pervasive across neighborhoods, schools, and policing encounters. Protective factors included maternal figures, faith and spirituality, and education, while resilience was supported through emotion regulation, meaning-making, future orientation, mentoring, and strengthened relationships. Findings conceptualized CVE as an ecological condition rather than a discrete event and support Black psychology–informed assessment, intervention, and prevention that distinguish adaptive vigilance from pathology and strengthen protective systems.