The proposed research extends a longitudinal prospective study that was designed to delineate processes that generally underlie positive development of marital relationships for a representative urban sample of black and white couples. The long-term objective of the research proposed is to discover ways in which the early development of marriage for black couples and white couples affect marital stability, long-term marital outcomes, patterns of family life, and individual adjustment to divorce.
The specific aims are: (1) to consolidate and extend information thus far obtained from interviews over a seven year period, and (2) to obtain and analyze another wave of data for this longitudinal sample.
Both aims will examine: the interplay between culture, structure and interpersonal factors in adaptation of spouses to each other; the significance of couples' accounts for understanding marital and parental experiences; the ways in which black men and women organize their life compared to white men and women; and how early marital processes affect later levels of adjustment to divorce. Analyses of the already existing data will build on analyses already done around issues of narratives, parenthood, work-family integration and change and stability in marital processes. It is estimated that 145 married couples will be interviewed in the fourteenth year of marriage and at least 103 individuals who are presently divorced from their original EYM partner. By and large, the procedures in the fourteenth year will be identical to the first, third, and seventh year data collection procedures. A new narrative procedure will be introduced for those couples who are divorced from their original EYM spouse prior to the fourteenth year, focusing on reasons for divorce and long-term coping and adjustment to the event.
| Oggins, J; Veroff, J; Leber, D (1993) Perceptions of marital interaction among black and white newlyweds. J Pers Soc Psychol 65:494-511 |
