Title page for ETD etd-121198-102319

Type of Document

Master's Thesis

Author

Donnell, Angela S.

URN

etd-121198-102319

Title

Inside Interracial Marriages: Accounts of Black-White Couples

Degree

Master of Science

Department

Human Development

Advisory Committee

Advisor Name	Title
Bird, Gloria W.	Committee Chair
Rogers, Cosby Steele	Committee Member
Sporakowski, Michael J.	Committee Member

Keywords

stess
maintenance
coping
Black-White couples
interracial couples
interracial
marriage

Date of Defense

1998-12-01

Availability

restricted

Abstract

INSIDE INTERRACIAL MARRIAGES:
ACCOUNTD OF BLACK-WHITE COUPLES

By

Angela S. Donnell

(ABSTRACT)

The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the chronic daily concerns that eight self-identified Black-White interracial couples described as stressful and to identify the coping strategies that they utilized to reduce feelings of distress. Another goal of this study was to discover the actions that these eight couples took to maintain marital satisfaction. This investigation consisted of a total of 24 interviews, 16 individual and 8 couple interviews, based on the research questions guided by stress and coping theory. Couples identified three chronic stressors: Worrying About Children, Wanting to be Accepted, and Building a Successful Marriage; Nine coping strategies were identified: Distancing, Putting Family First, Problem-Solving, Accepting of Problems, Having Faith in God, Denial, Communicating With Spouse, Positive Reframing/Reflecting, and Escaping. Five maintenance behaviors were identified as well: Having Couple/Family Time, Communicating, Being Considerate, Getting Away Together, and Planning/Remembering Special Occasions.

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