Affects and Interactions in Newlyweds' Narratives: Black and White Couples Compared

Abstract

Two main questions guided this research: (a) How do newlyweds' affective statements and interactive styles found in narratives told about their relation-ship help us understand the meaning they make of their marriages? (b) How does analysis of the affective statements and interactive styles of Black couples (n = 136) in comparison to White couples (n = 135) help us understand the differential meaning in these groups? The representative sample was inter-viewed from 5 to 8 months after marriage. The narrative procedure asked the couples to tell the story of their relationship. By and large, Black couples and White couples showed similar patterns of affective reactions: They were gener-ally positive, emphasizing individual rather than communal affects, many of which dealt with the external world rather than their own interpersonal lives. In comparison to White husbands, Black husbands are more often perceived as the focus of affective life in the relationship. White couples refer to the external world in their affective statements more frequently than Black couples. With regard to interactive styles in the storytelling, there were more Black-White differences. Although most couples' interactions were mainly collaborative, Blacks showed less cooperative styles of interaction and greater conflict than did Whites. Using the developmental, cultural variant, and cultural equiva-lent perspectives, the article presents interpretations of the similimilarities and differences found for Black and White couples' narratives.(Psychology; an-thropology)

Impact of racial perspectives and contextual variables on marital trust and adjustment for African American couples.

“…Although extensive psychometric properties of scores for all but the stereotype scale have been documented, future studies should include multiple methods of studying racial constructs, such as with behavioral measures, to prevent the possibility of shared method variance. Still, these findings were largely consistent with questionnaire and observer-coded interview data obtained from other samples of African American couples (e.g., Kelly & Floyd, 2001; Veroff, Chadiha, Leber, & Sutherland, 1993; Veroff, Sutherland, et al, 1993) and individuals (Chambers et al, 1998). A third limitation of the study is its inability to determine causality from correlations and cross-sectional data.…”

“…Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Genia, V. (2001) Veroff, J., & Leber, D. (1993). Perceptions of marital interaction among Black and White newlyweds.…”

“…National census data indicate that between 1970 and 1990 divorce rates rose from 104 to 358 divorces per 1,000 for African American women, compared with 56 and 153 divorces per 1,000 White women during the same time period (Tucker & Mitchell-Kernan, 1995). Moreover, studies commonly have found poorer self-reported marital quality for African American than for White participants (e.g., Oggins, Veroff, & Leber, 1993). At the same time, within-group data suggest that successful marriages are beneficial to African Americans.…”

Subjection, Subjectivity, and Agency

“…Recognizing that people develop stories about their lives that mediate between what really happened and the meanings their experiences hold for them, we approached the interview data from what we will call a modified constructivist perspective. Veroff, Chadiha, Leber, and Sutherland (1993) write, ". .…”

Telling Tales

“…However, some impromptu questions based on the list of topics contained in the consent form were required as the interviews progressed. These prompts, following the work of Veroff et al (1993), are:…”