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In light of the growing number of interracial marriages in this country, the present study set out to examine the relative strength of one's racial identity, social support, and experience of discrimination in predicting interracial marriage quality. A total of 76 interracial couples (52 African American male/White female and 24 African American female/White male) participated in the study by completing mail surveys. Results revealed that for African American partners, and to a lesser extent White partners, racial identity was the strongest predictor of marital quality. Partners who had pride in their race but were also accepting of other races and cultures experienced higher marital quality. These findings are discussed in light of the literature that suggests interracial couples often minimize the relevance of race in their relationships.

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Central Americans are one of the fastest growing immigrant groups in the United States, yet little is known about their adjustment to life in this country. Research with previous immigrant groups has suggested that informal support networks play a significant role in newcomers' adjustment process. In the present study, 91 recently arrived Central American immigrants were interviewed concerning the circumstances of their immigration into this country, characteristics of their networks in this country, and the adjustment of family members since arriving. Results indicate that although the networks of these individuals tend to be dense and provide a great deal of support, they may have an insulating effect that diminishes immigrants' interaction with the larger community. These findings are discussed in light of the larger issue of the receptivity of the host community to newcomers.

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Racial socialization protects minority adolescents from stress associated with racial discrimination. The process of racial socialization, however, may be challenging in transracial adoptive families. White parents may struggle with preparing their children for discrimination and fostering the development of racial pride. Thus, transracially adopted youth may be particularly vulnerable to stress resulting from discrimination. This study examines the extent to which racial socialization by White adoptive parents moderates the link between discrimination and stress for their minority adolescents. A study of 59 parent‐child dyads indicated that while not having an independent effect, racial socialization did moderate the link between experiences of discrimination and perceived stressfulness. For those adolescents experiencing high levels of discrimination, racial socialization did serve a protective function.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical decision making of marriage and family therapists who had no training in gender compared to those who had such training, either through a separate course or by having gender issues integrated throughout the curriculum. Specifically, levels of feminism and sexism in the clinical assumptions and interventions of therapists were evaluated using clinical vignettes. Participants for this study included 150 beginning or entry‐level therapists from marriage and family therapy training programs in academic settings. Of the 102 participants with some training in gender isues, 64% reported having received gender training from a faeminist perspective. contrary to expectations, a multivariate analyssis of variance revealed that training in gender issues alone did not significantly influence levels of feminism and sexism in clinical decision making. However, the levels of sexism in clinical interventions were significantly lower if therapists had received gender coursework from a feminist perspective, whether in a separate course or integrated throughout the curriculuim. These findings raise a question as to the wtility of teaching gender issues if what is taught and how it is taught are not also considered.