The early adult life structure of urban black men

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to provide a groundwork for the understanding of the psychosocial development of black South African men. This need stems from the limitation of current models of psychosocial development, which have a white, middleclass bias, and from the dearth of research relating to black psychosocial development in South Africa. Questions which have guided the present study include the following: What is the nature of the psychosocial development of black men? What are the main developmental tasks that they have to negotiate, especially in relation to family and career? How do sociocultural, political and economic factors influence development? How does the development of black South African men compare with other conceptualisations of adult development? Daniel Levinson's (1978) theory of the life structure was used as a framework to explore these questions. This involved a series of in depth qualitative interviews with eight men between the ages of 29 and 41, from diverse educational and socio-economic backgrounds. The grounded theory approach used to analyse the data involved the simultaneous process of data collection and data analysis. Similarities and differences in the men's evolving life structures were identified through a process of coding, or organising the data into categories and themes. The findings highlighted the importance of understanding the dialectical nature of development, the role of life events, and the significance of role strain across the life span of black South African adults. Discrimination, economic constraints, traditional values, and the sociopolitical context were found to have an impact on the important developmental tasks. The coping strategies employed to deal with external barriers had an especially influential impact on the men's evolving life structures. A model of psychosocial development was proposed which addresses these factors, and which is thus more relevant to the lives of black South African men, than stage models such as Levinson's. Important implications on a societal and theoretical level, and for the professional practice of psychology emerged. It is hoped that these findings will enrich developmental theory in psychology training programmes, and guide career and personal counselling in the South African context.