Virginia Tech
Exploring the Experience of Race-related Stress and Marital Satisfaction among African American Married Couples
Abstract
dc:description.abstractThe purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how race-related stress influenced marital satisfaction among ten African American married couples. Each couple participated in a 60 to 90 minute interview and completed a measure of marital satisfaction. Using phenomenology, symbolic interactionism, and family systems theory as a theoretical lens, this study described how African American married couples came to understand if and how the phenomenon of race-related stress influenced their marital satisfaction, and what meanings they created from this experience. Using modified analytic induction, couples discussed how their individual factors influenced their perceptions of race-related stress. Race-related stress couples also discussed how the phenomenon strengthened and challenged their marital satisfaction. It was also discovered that couples with race-related stress developed ways of coping with race-related stress in an effort to protect their marital satisfaction. One of the ten couples reported not experiencing race-related stress. A conceptual model, future research, and clinical implications from these findings are discussed.
Degree
thesis:*- Name thesis:degree_name
- Master of Science
- Level thesis:degree_level
- masters
- Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
- Marriage and Family Therapy
- Department dc:contributor.department
- Marriage and Family Therapy
- Grantor dc:publisher
- Virginia Tech
- Year dc:date.issued
- 2007
Author and committee
dc:creator, dc:contributor.*- Author dc:creator
-
- Green, Narkia Monique
- Chair dc:contributor.committeechair
-
- Huebner, Angela J.
- Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember
-
- McCollum, Eric E.
- Few-Demo, April L.
Subjects
dc:subject × 4Rights
dc:rights- Statement dc:rights
-
- In Copyright
- Licence dc:rights.uri
Identifiers
dc:identifier.*- Dc Identifier Other
- etd-07102007-135150
- OAI identifier oai:identifier
- oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/43602