This study was motivated by concern that depression may be misdiagnosed in African American young men. The purpose of this research was to identify perceptions and expressions of depression among African American young men 18 to 25 years of age through ethnography and participatory research strategies. Twenty-eight young men were recruited through a snowball method as a result of a community partnership. Categories identified from group and individual interviews were stress, police, difference, chilling, coping, depression, and depression as a fact of life. Following analysis, data were taken back to the young men for member checking regarding accuracy of categories.

The purpose of this paper was to address two questions: (i) Do Ghanaian and African American males with HIV/AIDS experience different types and degrees of stigma? and (ii) Is the impact of stigma associated with HIV/AIDS on the self different for Ghanaian and African American males? A quantitative method was used, and the four dimensions of stigma (social rejection, financial insecurity, internalised shame, and social interaction) were identified and measured using combination Likert-type questionnaires. Data regarding positive feelings of self-worth and self-deprecation, stress related to body image, and personal control were also collected in Ghana and the southeastern USA. The sample consisted of 55 men from Ghana and 55 men from the southeastern USA. Results indicate that values for the scales measuring stigma and self-perception were significantly higher for the Ghanaian sample than for the African American sample. Thus we conclude that the Ghanaian sample living with HIV/AIDS experienced a greater amount of negative self-perception and stigma-related strife than the African American sample.

This study examined injection drug use and HIV risk behaviors in a predominantly African American sample of homeless men with mental illness. Personal interviews focusing on injection drug use and sexual risk behaviors were completed with 240 homeless mentally ill men in two shelters in a southeastern city. Sixty-two (26%) of the 240 men injected drugs. Among the injection drug users (IDUs), most reported high-risk behaviors, including needle sharing (70%) and participation in shooting galleries (71%). Very few performed risk reduction activities (e.g., cleaning needles with bleach [19%] or using a needle exchange program [0%]). Within the preceding 6 months, most of the IDUs had had sex with women (51%) or men (8%) without a condom. This investigation reported a high lifetime occurrence of injection drug use in a sample of predominantly African American homeless men with mental illness. The IDUs reported intravenous drug use and sexual activities with great risk of HIV transmission and provided little evidence of risk-reduction efforts. These men are outside of most social service and health care systems but must be included in special programs to decrease the transmission of HIV.