Cultural Impacts on Marriage and Relationships

Traditions, saying, beliefs, language, and values are just a few things that make up our culture. Culture is the framework in which families are structured. It shapes our expectations and ideals. Culture plays a part in the meaning of marriage and our roles as husbands, wives, children and parents.

Understanding cultural differences and similarities related to marriage is important. Culture affects the roles that spouses take within marriages, the age at marriage and number of children a couple has, the meaning of divorce, cohabitation and non-marital childbearing, and the way parents raise children. Without understating how relationships and marriages vary across cultural contexts, and how they are similar, we will not be able to identify the unique ways that marriages and family life affect people of various cultures. As a result, we will not be able to create effective services to help families create and sustain healthy marriages. In this section you will find links to, and bibliographies of, important foundational pieces and recent works on families in various cultures, including African-American families, Hispanic families, Asian and Pacific Islander families, Native American families, and intercultural families.

African Americans and Marriage

In order for marriage and family researchers to accurately understand African American marriage, they must be aware of its unique qualities. Below you will find a list of resources that contain useful information on African Americans and marriage.

Marriage and the Well-Being of African American Boys Linda Malone-Colon & Alex Roberts -- The family structure as an impact on a child's well-being.
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/healthymarriage/about/aami_marriage_statistics.htm - A Fact Sheet for Marriage, Divorce, Childbirth, and Living Arrangements among African American or Black Populations
http://www.aahmi.net - African American Healthy Marriage Initiative Web site which presents mission, goals, strategies and other resources
http://ssw.unc.edu/jif/aahmi07/ - A list of resources from the Connecting Marriage Research to Practice conference, held in Chapel Hill, NC in September 2007, with the co-sponsorship of the Administration for Children and Families, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, and the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Social Work’s Jordan Institute for Families
http://www.aahmi.net/pdfs/education1.pdf - This publication includes articles and studies on such topics as “Premarital and Marriage Education,” “Marriage Education for Couples Becoming Parents” and “Closing the Marriage Gap.” African American Healthy Marriage Initiative
http://healthymarriageinfo.org/docs/research/consq_marriage_african_exsumm.pdf - Blackman, L. (2005). The consequences of marriage for African Americans: a comprehensive literature review. New York: Institute for American Values
http://www.aecf.org/upload/PublicationFiles/healthy%20marriages.pdf - Healthy Marriages in Low Income AA Communities: Exploring Partnerships Between the Faith Community and The Marriage Movement
http://www.americanvalues.org/html/r-wmm.html - Why Marriage Matters, Second Edition: Twenty-Six Conclusions from the Social Sciences

Asian and Pacific Islanders and Marriage

In order for marriage and family researchers to accurately understand Asian American marriage, they must be aware of its unique qualities. Below you will find a list of resources that contain useful information on Asian Americans and marriage.

http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/010048.html - U.S. Census Bureau News. Minority Population Tops 100 Million
http://www.kccd3300.org/researchdocs/pdf/strengthening_families.pdf - Strengthening Families in the Korean/Asian Immigrant Community. White Paper submitted by Hyepin, President and CEO Korean Churches for Community Development
http://www.census.gov/prod/2007pubs/acs-05.pdf - This report presents a portrait of the Asian population in the United States. It is part of the American Community Survey (ACS) report series. Information on demographic, social, economic, and housing characteristics in the tables and figures are based on data from the 2004 ACS Selected Population Profiles and Detailed Tables
http://www.kccd3300.org/apahmi.htm - The Asian Pacific Healthy Marriage Network’s Web site, which highlights culturally and linguistically competent strategies for strengthening marriages and families in the Asian American and Pacific Islander community

Hispanics and Marriage

In order for marriage and family researchers to accurately understand Hispanic marriage, they must be aware of its unique qualities. Below you will find a list of resources that contain useful information on Hispanics and marriage.

Adriana Umana-Taylor & Mark Fein. (2003). Predicting commitment to wed among Hispanic and Anglo partners. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 65, 117-139.
Celia Jaes Falicov. (1998). Latino families in therapy: A guide to multicultural practice. New York: The Guilford Press.
Charles Negy & Douglas Snyder. (2000). Relationship satisfaction of Mexican American and non-Hispanic White American interethnic couples: Issues of acculturation and clinical intervention. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 26, 293-304.
David Fein (2005). Married and poor: Basic characteristics of economically disadvantaged married couples in the U.S. Washington D.C.: Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.
Elizabeth Weiling. (2003). Latino/a and white marriages: A pilot study investigating the experiences of interethnic couples in the United States. Journal of Couple and Relationship Therapy, 2, 41-55.
Gerardo Marín & Barbara Marín. (1991). Research with Hispanic populations. Applied Social Research Methods Series, 23, 1-130.
Jerry Jacobs & Theresa Labov. (2002). Gender differentials in intermarriage among sixteen race and ethnic groups. Sociological Forum, 17, 621-646.
Joyce Martin, Brady Hamilton, Paul Sutton, Stephanie Ventura, Fay Menacker, & Martha Munson. (2003). Births: Final data for 2002. National Vital Statistics Reports, 52, 10. Hyattsville, Maryland: National Center for Health Statistics.
Kristen Harcknett & Sara S. McLanahan. (2004). Racial and ethnic differences in marriage after birth of a child. American Sociological Review, 69, 790-811.
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/healthymarriage/about/forum.html - Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation. (2005). Hispanic Healthy Marriage Initiative: Literature Review on Hispanic Families. Washington D.C.: The Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.
Ralph S. Oropesa & Nancy S. Landale. (2004). The future of marriage and Hispanics. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 66, 901-920.
Ralph S. Oropesa. (1996). Normative beliefs about marriage and cohabitation: A comparison of non-Latino whites, Mexican Americans and Puerto Ricans. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 58, 49-62.
Sonia Frias & Ronald J. Angel. (2005). The risk of partner violence among low-income Hispanic subgroups. Journal of Marriage and Family, 67, 552-564.
Sylvia Marotta & Jorge Garcia. (2003). Latinos in the United States in 2000. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 25(1), 13-34.

Native Americans and Marriage

In order for marriage and family researchers to accurately understand Native American marriage, they must be aware of its unique qualities. However, comparatively little research has been conducted on Native American family life, and especially on Native American marriages. Below is a list of a few resources that contain useful information on Native Americans and marriage.

http://www.census.gov/prod/2006pubs/censr-28.pdf - U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey Reports: We the People: American Indians and Alaska Natives in the United States. Issued February 2006.
http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/010048.html - U.S. Census Bureau News. Minority Population Tops 100 Million.
http://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/c2kbr01-15.pdf - This report summarizes the American Indian population in the United States and discusses its distribution at both the national and state levels. It includes characteristics of the total American Indian population and selected tribal groupings.
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ana/programs/NAHMI/Index.html - The Native American Healthy Marriage Initiative Web site seeks to support projects that include approaches to improve child well-being by removing barriers to form and sustain healthy marriages and strengthen families in Native American communities.

Additional Resources

Five Types of African-American Marriages William D. Allen & David H. Olsen -- The five types (from highest marital satisfaction to lowest) were labeled as vitalized, harmonious, traditional, conflicted, and devitalized.