South Middlesex Times

The way Black men perceive themselves after a firearm injury—whether as survivors or victims—can evolve over time and impact their mental health, according to a Rutgers Health study. The research, published in the Journal of Urban Health, explored the influence of racially coded language, sociodemographic factors, and environmental contexts on labeling among Black men who have experienced firearm injuries.

Rutgers researchers aimed to understand how Black men in a hospital-based violence intervention program view the labels "survivor" and "victim" following such injuries. "The self-identification as a ‘survivor’ versus ‘victim’ following violent injury may have salient implications for the mental health of Black men," said Nazsa Baker, a postdoctoral fellow with the New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center (GVRC). “Internalizing a victim identity could exacerbate trauma reactions, negative cognitions about self-worth and powerlessness, feelings of helplessness and other symptoms of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.”

Conversely, adopting a survivor identity might foster resilience and post-traumatic growth by enhancing self-efficacy, hope, motivation to heal, and perceived control. However, Baker noted that some scholars caution against an exclusive focus on survivorship as it might pressure injured individuals to suppress vulnerable emotions or bypass trauma processing to appear strong.

The study involved 15 Black men over the age of 18 who were victims of firearm injuries and participants in a hospital-based violence intervention program. They took part in open-ended telephone interviews discussing their feelings about being labeled as survivors versus victims.

Most participants accepted the term “survivor,” associating “victim” with weakness. Some embraced both labels while considering themselves partially survivors due to their physical survival. Others rejected both labels in favor of self-labeling terms like “warrior.”

Researchers concluded that experiences are more complex than merely being victims or survivors. Personal identities and labels can change after an injury, leading to new perspectives on resilience and trauma processing.

Further research is needed to understand how this group labels itself considering societal expectations of masculinity, racial stereotypes, community environment, and available support services. The findings suggest public awareness campaigns should portray surviving violence as strength and highlight the importance of culturally sensitive mental health care.

“Providers and social science researchers may be best served by rejecting a one-size-fits-all approach and allowing violently injured Black men to self-determine the self-appraisal that aligns most closely with their lived experience, needs and cultural context,” Baker said. “Imposing labels could overlook individual differences and neglect the meaning-making process among those who have experienced a life-altering event.”

Researchers indicated that self-labeling across the victim-survivor continuum shows that current dichotomies do not always capture Black men's direct experiences.

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