It's Not Healthy Fellowship: Negative Interactions and the Implications for Middle- and Old-Age Black Men

Abstract Despite the benefits of social support on the well-being of Black men across the life course, scholars are more closely examining the potentially negative outcomes associated with some social networks. As one social support system, the Black church frequently serves middle and old age Black men who identify as religiously involved. Yet, higher levels of religious involvement have also been associated with more church-related negative interactions. The present study utilizes a grounded theory approach to examine the negative interactions of religious middle and old age Black men. A semi-structured interview protocol is used to gather data from 35 Black men between the ages of 45 and 76. Analyses reveal that church-related negative interactions broadly fall within the following themes: (1) Ageism Within Intergenerational Churches, (2) People are Messy, and (3) Issues with Leadership. Since negative interactions can be more detrimental than social support is beneficial, health-related implications are discussed.


SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF MEN'S HEALTH ACROSS THE LIFE COURSE
Chair: Roland Thorpe, Jr. Discussant: Keith Whitfield There is a paucity of research focusing on the complex interaction between social, behavioral, biological, and psychosocial factors, and health outcomes among men.This symposium contains a collection of papers that discuss some key social determinants of health (SDOH) that can provide insights to advance our understanding of men's health and aging across the life course.Dawn will discuss the Stroke Counseling for Risk Reduction (SCORRE) intervention designed to increase awareness, risk perceptions, and health behaviors to reduce stroke risk in African Americans.Findings suggest tailoring the intervention to the needs and preferences of young African American men.Archibald and colleagues seek to determine if race differences in allostatic load (AL) among adult men vary by age.Black men 45-64 had a higher AL score (PR = 1.14, 95% CI 1.02, 1.28) than White men.Skipper and colleagues used a grounded theory approach to examine the negative interactions of 35 religious middle and old age Black men.Analyses reveal that church-related negative interactions broadly fall within the following themes: (1) ageism within intergenerational churches, (2) people are messy, and (3) issues with leadership.Bruce and colleagues examine the association between religious service attendance and mortality among Black men.Participants who attended at least once per week were 18% less likely to die than their peers who did not attend a religious service at all (HR 0.82; 95% CI 0.68-0.99).These presentations collectively will bolster our knowledge on key SDOH among men across the life course.

TAILORING STROKE COUNSELING FOR RISK REDUCTION INTERVENTION TO AFRICAN AMERICAN MEN
Dawn Aycock, 1 J.Taylor Harden, 2 Laura Salazar, 1 Gayenell Magwood, 3 and Patricia Clark, 1 1.Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States, 2. University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, United States, 3. Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina,

United States
Early life course achievement and maintenance of ideal cardiovascular health is associated with reduced risk of developing stroke later in life.The Stroke Counseling for Risk Reduction (SCORRE) intervention is an age-andculturally relevant intervention originally designed to correct inaccurate stroke risk perceptions and improve lifestyle behaviors to reduce stroke risk in AAs age 20-35.In a study testing SCORRE, fewer men participated, but most were not at a stage of readiness for behavior change; many did not think they were at risk despite averaging three modifiable risk factors, and while improvements in outcomes were observed in women they were not in men.These differences led to tailoring SCORRE to young AA men.The methods for tailoring SCORRE and resulting strategies for attracting, engaging, and empowering them towards stroke risk reduction, including hypotheses concerning food supply, housing, economic and social relationships, education, and mental health care will be raised for discussion.Despite the benefits of social support on the well-being of Black men across the life course, scholars are more closely examining the potentially negative outcomes associated with some social networks.As one social support system, the Black church frequently serves middle and old age Black men who identify as religiously involved.Yet, higher levels of religious involvement have also been associated with more church-related negative interactions.The present study utilizes a grounded theory approach to examine the negative interactions of religious middle and old age Black men.A semi-structured interview protocol is used to gather data from 35 Black men between the ages of 45 and 76.Analyses reveal that church-related negative interactions broadly fall within the following themes: (1) Ageism Within Intergenerational Churches, (2) People are Messy, and (3) Issues with Leadership.Since negative interactions can be more detrimental than social support is beneficial, healthrelated implications are discussed.

IT'S NOT HEALTHY FELLOWSHIP: NEGATIVE INTERACTIONS AND THE IMPLICATIONS FOR MIDDLE-AND OLD-AGE BLACK MEN
Black men experience high levels of social and psychological stress and religion has been a coping strategy.The purpose of this study was to examine the association between religious service attendance and mortality among Black men.Data were drawn from the NHANES III (1988-1994) sample linked to the 2015 public use Mortality File.The analytic sample (n=2300) was restricted to Black men.All-cause mortality was the primary outcome and religious service attendance was the primary independent variable.Findings from Cox proportional hazards models indicated participants who attended at least once per week were 18% less likely to die than their peers who did not attend a religious service at all (fully adjusted HR 0.82; CI 0.68-0.99).The robust association between religious service attendance and mortality among Black men suggest that prospective studies are needed to further examine the influence of religion on health among this population.

SOCIAL DETERMINATES OF HEALTH AMONG OLDER ADULTS LIVING WITH HIV/AIDS
Chair: Erin Robinson Co-Chair: Tonya Taylor Discussant: Charles Emlet In the United States (U.S.), people aged 55 years and older make up 36% of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA).Nearly 20% of new HIV infections occur among people aged 50+.While medical breakthroughs in HIV treatment have allowed PLWHA to live longer, healthier lives, structural conditions still exist that affect health outcomes of older adults living with HIV/AIDS (OALWHA).These conditions continue to disproportionately burden OALWHA, particularly older adults of color.Therefore, a greater understanding of the social determinates of health (SDH) is essential to continue making progress in HIV treatment, maintenance, and prevention.The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has highlighted several SDH among OALWHA, including: poverty, education, income, employment status, health insurance coverage, and housing.This symposium will highlight emerging research that examines several of these indicators among OALWHA.Using a variety of research methodologies, the five abstracts included in this symposium aim to address: 1) psychosocial risk factors of quality of life; 2) life instability and mental health; 3) institutional barriers and facilitators of successful aging; 4) determinants of engaging in advance care planning; and 5) a needs assessment of OALWHA, with particular emphasis on SDH.Results from this research identify several priority areas (such as housing instability, mental health, food insecurity, and isolation) for healthcare leaders to consider in targeting future policy, programming, and funding.Future initiatives are essential to help continue the progress in HIV/ AIDS treatment and prevention, including addressing SDH among the aging population living with HIV/AIDS.

RISK FACTORS OF QUALITY OF LIFE OUTCOMES AMONG OLDER ADULTS LIVING WITH HIV
Monique Brown, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, United States