Cultural diversity within couples: Risk or chance? A meta‐analytic review of relationship satisfaction

Abstract

Previous research has suggested that couples with different sociocultural backgrounds (DISC) are less stable and less satisfied than culturally homogeneous couples, putatively because of the stressors these couples face, for example, discrimination. However, a review of the literature suggests that findings across studies are somewhat mixed, and correlates of different sociodemographic variables are potentially important. We identified and

Caught between two worlds: mental health literacy and stigma among bicultural youth

“…Shame resulting from mental health stigma in one’s heritage culture community may be a reason for the low mental health service utilization of acculturating individuals (Amri & Bemak, 2012 ; Emerson et al, 2021 ; Hampton & Sharp, 2014 ). The desire to protect the family reputation and honour in collectivist cultures—e.g., to attract marriage partners for children—may also drive low service utilization (Gopalkrishnan, 2018 ; Uhlich et al, 2022 ). Accordingly, families may feel compelled to hide their mental health problems to protect the children and the entire family from the tag “crazy” or other marks of external shame (Hampton & Sharp, 2014 ).…”

Comprehensive scoping review of research on intercultural love and romantic relationships

“…This produced the output of only three existing review studies. Two of these are the literature reviews that aimed at exploring issues relevant to intercultural couples in general (Sullivan & Cottone, 2006; Uhlich et al, 2022) and another one focused specifically on intercultural parenting (Crippen & Brew, 2007). Sullivan and Cottone (2006) provided a useful discussion of how defining intercultural relationships through the lens of race can limit our understanding of the role of culture in the couple relationship.…”

“…Here, the authors specify that it is common for partners to overcome the difference in their cultural values and beliefs by creating a new set of shared cultural practices as they are adapting to the new stage of the family life cycle. The third and more recent review of literature by Uhlich et al (2022) is a meta-analysis of literature on relationship satisfaction of couples where partners come from diverse sociocultural backgrounds. The authors tested the hypothesis that intercultural couples have lower relationship satisfaction than culturally homogeneous counterparts (Uhlich et al, 2022).…”

“…The third and more recent review of literature by Uhlich et al (2022) is a meta-analysis of literature on relationship satisfaction of couples where partners come from diverse sociocultural backgrounds. The authors tested the hypothesis that intercultural couples have lower relationship satisfaction than culturally homogeneous counterparts (Uhlich et al, 2022). While providing a useful insight into the fact that intercultural couples do not appear to be less satisfied in their relationships, the study does not explore in what way cultural differences shape relational experiences.…”