Date
10-14-2026
Department
School of Behavioral Sciences
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD)
Chair
Margaret Williams
Keywords
Black fathers, fatherhood identity, masculinity norms, perceived discrimination, spiritual coping, help-seeking
Disciplines
Psychology
Recommended Citation
Toliver Davenport, Shantone V., "Carrying the Weight: The Cultural and Social Pressures of Black Fathers and the Impact on Physical and Mental Health and Help-Seeking" (2026). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 9012.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/9012
Abstract
Black fathers in the United States remain underrepresented in research examining how sociocultural pressures relate to fatherhood identity, well-being, and help-seeking. This quantitative predictive correlational study examined whether masculinity norms, everyday discrimination, and positive religious coping predicted fatherhood identity among 134 eligible Black American fathers and whether those variables, together with fatherhood identity, predicted mental well-being, physical well-being, and help-seeking intentions. The study also tested three separate hierarchical moderation models. Data were collected through Qualtrics and analyzed with reproducible regression procedures. The predictor set did not significantly explain fatherhood identity or physical well-being. The mental well-being model was significant, with more frequent everyday discrimination uniquely associated with lower PROMIS Global Mental Health T-scores. The help-seeking model was also significant, with more frequent everyday discrimination uniquely associated with lower help-seeking intentions. Masculinity norms, everyday discrimination, and positive religious coping did not moderate the relationship between fatherhood identity and help-seeking. Sensitivity analyses excluding six quality-flagged records preserved the primary conclusions. Findings underscore the relevance of routine discriminatory experiences to Black fathers' mental well-being and willingness to seek support while cautioning against treating fatherhood identity, masculinity, or religious coping as uniform risk or protective factors.
