Faculty Publications
Wellbeing Among Black American Adults Living In Low-Resourced Communities
Document Type
Article
Keywords
adults, Black Americans, feeling good, low income, low-resourced communities, wellbeing
Journal/Book/Conference Title
Journal of Community Psychology
Abstract
Very little is known about how Black Americans living in low-resourced communities define and maintain wellbeing. Utilizing a culturally tailored research design, we explored the phenomenon of wellbeing as it resonated with the lived experiences of our informants (N = 35). Using a thematic analysis, we found that existing conceptualizations and theorizing of wellbeing did not consistently emerge from our data. First, we noted paradoxical tensions between descriptions of wellbeing as indicated by the participants (e.g., being alive and having a pain-free life) and the Western, Eurocentric views evidenced in the wellbeing literature. Second, participants identified intergenerational family ties and community networks as ways that foster wellbeing. These findings suggest that we can no longer delimit and apply existing views in theorizing and measuring wellbeing. Our findings elucidated the mindsets, relationships, activities, and practices that define and foster wellbeing among Black Americans living in low-resourced communities.
Department
Center for Educational Transformation
Original Publication Date
1-1-2021
DOI of published version
10.1002/jcop.22754
Recommended Citation
Alagaraja, Meera and Hooper, Lisa M., "Wellbeing Among Black American Adults Living In Low-Resourced Communities" (2021). Faculty Publications. 5203.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/facpub/5203
