Family Stress and Coping Among African Americans in the Age of COVID-19

The Coronavirus, also known as COVID-19 has wrecked havoc on the world's economy, health, industry, education, and social systems. While the impact of the Coronavirus is being felt by millions of individuals in the United States, this manuscript will focus on the impact of COVID-19 on African Americans, examining it through the lens of family stress theory. This focus is deliberate because when compared to other racial groups, African Americans have a disproportionately higher rate of contracting and dying from the virus, are more likely to be poor, be employed as essential workers in low-paying service jobs that substantially increases their risk of contracting and dying from the virus, and experience poor physical health. In addition to the aforementioned, this work will discuss how various components of McCubbin and Patterson's (1982) Double ABC-X Model of family stress relates to the physical, mental, and emotional health of African Americans. In addition to highlighting the unique stressors of Blacks, this work will provide future directions for researchers and practitioners.