title: Respect, protection, faith, and love: major care constructs identified within the subculture of selected urban African American adolescent gang members.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to discover universal and diverse care meanings and expressions of the selected urban African American adolescent gang culture within a qualitative paradigm.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study was conducted using ethnonursing research methodology and was guided by Leininger's theory of culture care. Thirteen key participants and 28 general participants were selected from a school setting in a Midwestern city. Data were collected and analyzed over a 12-month period, in which the researcher participated daily in school and extracurricular activities of the gang members. Leininger's Data Analysis Guide included collection of raw data and maintenance of a field journal, coding and examining of the data for behavioral patterns and structural meanings, and finally formulation of major themes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Culture care constructs that emerged from the major themes were respect, being listened to/accepted, worthiness, concern for others, protection, surveillance, trust, and faith.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Nurses may promote health and well-being through collaborative partnerships with gang members and working with other caregivers to encourage more healthy lifestyles. Nurses should assume a leadership role in restructuring health policy that would give equal voice to underprivileged members of American society.
authors.affiliation: University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA. edith.morris@uc.edu
authors.forename: Edith J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Morris
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D057237:Criminals / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D054521:Cultural Competency; D004645:Empathy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008149:Love; D008297:Male; D024802:Nurse's Role / Q000523:psychology; D011582:Psychological Theory; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012067:Religion; D016746:Transcultural Nursing / Q000379:methods*; D014481:United States; D014505:Urban Population