title: 'The full has never been told': building a theory of sexual health for heterosexual Black men of Caribbean descent.
abstract: Research on Black sexual health often fails to represent the heterogeneity of Black ethnic groups. For people of Caribbean descent in the USA, ethnicity is a salient cultural factor that influences definitions and experiences of sexual health. Most research on people of Caribbean descent focuses on the relatively high rate of STIs, but sexual health is defined more broadly than STI prevalence. Psychological and emotional indicators and the voice of participants are important to consider when exploring the sexual health of a minority culture. The purpose of this study was to qualitatively explore how heterosexual Black men of Caribbean descent define and understand sexual health for themselves. Eleven men who self-identified as Black, Caribbean and heterosexual participated in three focus groups and were asked to define sexual health, critique behaviours expertly identified as healthy and address what encourages and discourages sexual health in their lives. Findings point to six dimensions of sexual health for heterosexual Black men of Caribbean descent. These include: heterosexually privileged, protective, contextual, interpersonal, cultural and pleasurable dimensions. There were some notable departures from current expert definitions of sexual health. Recommendations for further theory development are provided.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology , University of Kentucky , Lexington , USA.
authors.forename: Candice N
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Crowell
authors.affiliation: b Department of Counseling and Human Services , University of Georgia , Athens , USA.
authors.forename: Edward A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Delgado-Romero
authors.affiliation: a Department of Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology , University of Kentucky , Lexington , USA.
authors.forename: Della V
authors.initials: DV
authors.lastname: Mosley
authors.affiliation: b Department of Counseling and Human Services , University of Georgia , Athens , USA.
authors.forename: Sophia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Huynh
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D044383:Black People / Q000523:psychology*; D017691:Caribbean Region / Q000208:ethnology; D017144:Focus Groups; D066296:Grounded Theory; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology; D020010:Heterosexuality / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008913:Minority Groups; D036301:Qualitative Research; D060728:Reproductive Health / Q000208:ethnology*; D014481:United States; D001741:Black or African American
keywords: Black men; Caribbean; Sexual health; USA; heterosexual