Relational religiosity and communal coping in African American romantic relationships

Research on African American marriages frequently has been conducted using a race-comparative analytic approach (Bryant, Wickrama, Bolland, Bryant, Cutrona, & Stanik, 2010; Cutrona, Russell, Burzette, Wesner, & Bryant, 2011). The present study opted for a different approach, using a national sample of 536 African American cohabiting or married couples. This study examined whether (a) communal coping and relational religiosity moderated the relationship between stressors (racial discrimination and financial strain/low financial security) and relationship satisfaction; and (b) communal coping and relational religiosity mediated between the stressors and relationship satisfaction. Two conceptual models predicting relationship satisfaction, Karney and Bradbury’s (1995) Vulnerability-Stress-Adaptation Model and Niehuis, Huston, and Rosenband’s (2006) Ecosystemic Model of Courtship Progression guided the proposed research. Relational religiosity exhibited a pair of moderating (buffering) effects in men, helping them maintain high relationship satisfaction when faced with high levels of perceived racial discrimination and financial hardship (low security). Communal coping, on the other hand, served as a full or partial mediator of sequences from perceived racial discrimination and financial security/hardship to relationship satisfaction.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Human Development and Family Studies

Grantor

Texas Tech University

Year dc:date.issued

2020

Author dc:creator

• Head, Jayla

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Niehuis, Sylvia

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Reifman, Alan
• Rose, Andrew

• African American
• Romantic relationships
• Resilience
• Communal coping
• Religion
• Religiosity
• Relational religiosity

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/2346/85804

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:ttu-ir.tdl.org:2346/85804