Interracial couples experience stressors that can negatively impact their relationship quality, such as racial discrimination. In dyads in which one partner identifies as White and the other identifies as Black or Hispanic, the stress due to racial discrimination is associated with differential alternatives: The White partner can end the relationship to stop their experience with the stress of racial discrimination, but Black or Hispanic partners cannot. As such, the White partner is a “weak link” in such relationships, and understanding processes that can mitigate discrimination-induced stress for White partners could be beneficial for interracial relationship longevity. In this study, we examined perspective-taking as a process to reduce momentary, discrimination-based stress. White partners in interracial relationships ( N = 292) were randomly assigned to engage in perspective-taking (or remain objective) when imagining their partner experiencing discrimination (or a common aversive situation). We predicted, and found, that momentary stress was lower for White partners who took their partners’ perspectives while thinking about them experiencing racial discrimination than for those who objectively recounted the details of their partners’ experiencing racial discrimination. In turn, lower momentary stress predicted greater commitment and relationship satisfaction. This indicates that perspective-taking can reduce the momentary stress a White partner experiences during an event of racial discrimination, which may strengthen interracial relationships.

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Interracial relationships can satisfy our human need for interpersonal bonds, but face adversity due to racial discrimination. This adversity is not parallel for the involved partners, however, in ways that have implications for relationship outcomes. As such, in the current research, we considered that discrimination may provide an avenue for positive self-expansion for a White partner, insofar as they use it to learn more about their partner's worldview and experience. This is important, as facing racial discrimination could be a reason White partners think about ending their relationship. Thus, identifying processes that mitigate adversity for the White partner could bolster relationship outcomes for both partners and enhance persistence in interracial relationships. Specifically, we tested whether White partners engaging in perspective taking could buffer against the negativity of discrimination.In Study 1 (N = 260), we found that perspective taking was associated with feeling the relationship expanded one's worldview for White partners in interracial relationships (but not for Black or non-White Hispanic partners). In Studies 2-4 (N = 531), we found that partners who engaged in perspective taking when discrimination was salient experienced greater positive self-expansion, which in turn led to greater reports of relationship quality. Collectively, these results suggest that perspective taking provides one process by which interracial relationships can be fortified against the adversity of racial discrimination.