Challenges and Conflicts . . . Strengths and Supports

Theories of minority stress contagion suggest that the consequences of racial discrimination may extend beyond the individual to impact close others. We empirically test direct and spillover associations between racialized stress and marital support and strain among mid-life and older Black spouses. We use actor-partner interdependence models to analyze dyadic data from 280 different-sex, married Black couples from the 2014 and 2016 Health and Retirement Study who completed the psychosocial leave-behind module. We find significant actor effects for husbands’ racial discrimination on their own marital support and strain, while wives’ racial discrimination is positively associated with their own marital strain. We find no evidence of partner effects nor significant gender differences in the association between racial discrimination and marital quality. The findings highlight pathways by which racial discrimination affects the marriage quality of Black men and women in mid- to late-life.

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interpersonal Discrimination and Relationship Quality among Married Mid-Life and Older Black Adults

Henderson

Wong

Dues

et al. 2023

“…Consistent with this finding, a previous study (Melgosa, 2004) reported that men and women communicate differently; women desire mutual acceptance and share more of their emotions during conversations with their spouse, whereas men have limited emotions, desire to 'win' in their conversations, and want their spouse to accept this. Lack of proper communication has been reported to cause marital constraints (Phillips, 2012). Interruptions, ignoring a spouse's concerns, unfinished talk on the same matter (even after apologies), or silence may be interpreted as a lack of respect for the spouse's concerns and escalate into conflict.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Consensus on Constraints in Marital Satisfaction Among Married People in African Context

Mwansisya

Mwampagatwa

2022

Marriage is considered as the most important social institution and symbol of adulthood in Africa. However, the trend of divorce has increased alarmingly in recent years. We explored the constraints towards marital satisfaction by using the Delphi technique with assumptions that couples are the experts on their marriages. Participant’s panel included married heterosexual couples divided into two groups: men and women couple’s panels. The group of women’s panel included 31 participants and men’s panel contained 25 males. Then in the final stage, both groups provided their views and discussed on the possible solutions to the identified constraints. Five major themes emerged: satisfaction in sexuality among couples, difficulties in communication, economic and financial conflicts, the role of extended families, and opportunity for behavioural change to achieve marital satisfaction. Our findings support the hypothesis that satisfaction with sexual intercourse, respectful communication, financial stability and careful handling of relatives influence marital satisfaction.

“…Additionally, Brody, Stoneman, Flor, and McCrary (1994) found that religiosity was related to better quality marital interaction and lower levels of marital conflict. Similarly, studies of African Americans in long-lasting marriages have identified religion as a major resource for the couples (Carolan & Allen, 1999; Marks et al, 2008), and 93% of husbands and 94% of wives reported that their faith was a “very important” factor in their marital longevity (Phillips, Wilmoth, & Marks, 2012). Brown et al (2008) also found that religiosity predicted marital stability over time, but only when assessed by service attendance and only for wives.…”

Section: Religion Spirituality and Marital Qualitymentioning

confidence: 99%

African American Clergy Involvement in Marriage Preparation

Wilmoth

Blaney

2014

Self Cite

Marital stability has been linked to multiple social and economic advantages, particularly for African Americans. Clergy provide the majority of marriage preparation in the United States, but historically African American denominations have not been sampled systematically. To address this issue, we conducted an exploratory survey investigating African American clergy members' behaviors, attitudes, and perceptions about providing marriage preparation. Data were collected from 141 members of the seven primarily African American denominations and compared with 793 clergy from the 15 largest, predominantly White, congregations. African American clergy were significantly more likely than clergy in the comparison group to say they addressed premarital content effectively, say they utilized a skills-based approach to teaching communication, require a longer waiting period, more sessions, more homework assignments, and consider marriage preparation a valuable part of their ministry and to believe that couples had benefited from marriage preparation.