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theses

Statement of Problem: Little is known about the processes that promote satisfaction and intimacy for Black couples, and even less research has been devoted to how these couples interact around race. This study explores whether the way in which Black couples discuss race might account for the mechanisms behind racial differences in marital quality. This study hypothesizes that use of we pronouns (we, our, us) will be positively correlated with relationship satisfaction in the sample of couples, compared to I, me and you. In addition, this study qualitatively examines how couples navigate we-ness to varying degrees across themes that represent threats to intimacy in Black couple relationships. Methods: A community sample of 26 Black adult couples in committed relationships received an eight-minute problem-solving task (Floyd, 2004) aimed to assess how Black couples address race-related disagreements between partners. Recordings and transcripts were acquired from a prior study conducted at Rutgers. Each couple was instructed to discuss a chosen issue, and fill out several self-report measures. Gottman & Gottman’s (2008) “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse,” criticism, contempt, defensiveness, and stonewalling represented examples of separateness in the transcripts, in contrast to couples displaying antidotes to the “horsemen,” and examples of kindness and generosity, as per coding analysis. Results: Use of “we” was not significantly related to reported relationship satisfaction; some positive correlations were found between partners’ use of “I” and females’ satisfaction. In addition, several clear patterns of potential positive and negative ways of discussing race emerged, and these patterns presented specifically across themes of stereotypes, child-rearing, and religion. Conclusions: This study examined Black couples’ race-related discussions using quantitative and qualitative methods, to provide a preliminary idea of whether use of certain pronouns may relate to relationship satisfaction, and to show how common patterns from couples’ research manifest uniquely in race-themed conversations. The results seem to show how couples’ ability to discuss these topics in a unified way manifests through complex qualitative discussion patterns rather than only through the use of pronouns. Implications of these findings are discussed.

ETD_7500

Psy.D.

Includes bibliographical references

by Elizabeth Moses

doi:10.7282/T3DN47CQ

ETD doctoral

The author owns the copyright to this work.