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- Title
Black men make sense of marital distress and divorce: An exploratory study.
- Authors
Lawson, Erma Jean; Thompson, Aaron
- Abstract
The article presents the findings of a study exploring the social aspects of marital distress and subsequent divorce using interviews with working middle-class Afro-American men. The findings suggest that the causes of marital distress and subsequent divorce are associated with active problem-solving efforts. The increased prevalence of divorce among Blacks has been attributed to the attitudes of Blacks toward marriage, the quality of life among Black men and women, the economic marginality of Blacks, the liberalization of divorce laws, and the unequal sex ratio in the black community. In 50% of the interviews, men complained that the spending practices of ex-spouses caused them considerable physiological as well as marital distress. Men in this study complained that ex-wives spent too much money on children and some resented their wives spending money on such extravagant purchases. In their opinion, these spending habits made their marriages irrevocably unworkable. Further, the differences in religious practices also affected marital stability. The respondents also expressed a lack of personal fulfillment and marital happiness because of their spouses' involvement in religious activities.
- Subjects
AFRICAN American men; MARRIED people; MARITAL relations; INTERPERSONAL conflict; MARITAL adjustment; DIVORCE; MARITAL satisfaction
- Publication
Family Relations, 1995, Vol 44, Issue 2, p211
- ISSN
0197-6664
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.2307/584811