Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1999. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 59-67).

This study focuses on exploring the reasons behind dating choices concerning religion and race. Studies report that race is more important than religion in choosing dating partners. Understanding religious and racial dating preferences and choices can help uncover group relations in the larger society. The present study examines the reasons why someone may be willing to date a group outside their religion but not a group outside their race. A pre-interview survey questionnaire was used to locate interview participants. The first 20 respondents who met the specific criteria of being White, single, and a conservative Christian were selected for a qualitative phone interview. To qualify, the respondents needed to be willing to date at least one group that was not Christian, but unwilling to date certain groups outside their race. The interviews were transcribed and the content was analyzed for patterns and themes using the Grounded theory. The results revealed that all the respondents except one were unwilling to date a Black individual and five were unwilling to date any race but White. The least likely to be considered as dating partners for religious groups were the Muslims and atheists. For race, many of the participants viewed Hispanics and Asians as more culturally or physically similar to them than Blacks. The main reasons why the respondents indicated they were willing to date Jewish and agnostic individuals were that they perceived them as similar to themselves in their belief systems. For both religion and race, the respondents were more willing to consider dating groups that were considered to have less stigma in society. The concept of stigma provides a framework for examining the respondents dating choices.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the chronic daily concerns that eight self-identified Black-White interracial couples described as stressful and to identify the coping strategies that they utilized to reduce feelings of distress. Another goal of this study was to discover the actions that these eight couples took to maintain marital satisfaction. This investigation consisted of a total of 24 interviews, 16 individual and 8 couple interviews, based on the research questions guided by stress and coping theory. Couples identified three chronic stressors: Worrying About Children, Wanting to be Accepted, and Building a Successful Marriage; Nine coping strategies were identified: Distancing, Putting Family First, Problem-Solving, Accepting of Problems, Having Faith in God, Denial, Communicating With Spouse, Positive Reframing/Reflecting, and Escaping. Five maintenance behaviors were identified as well: Having Couple/Family Time, Communicating, Being Considerate, Getting Away Together, and Planning/Remembering Special Occasions. / Master of Science

Ninety-six Ss, forty-eight white males and forty-eight white females, from introductory psychology classes at North Texas State University participated in a study of interracial attitudes and social expectations.

M.A. / Committed interracial relationships within the South African context have been associated with controversy as these relationships were once considered immoral and illegal. Since the abolishment of the anti-miscegenation and racial segregation laws, committed interracial relationships have slowly increased but are still fraught with difficulties. The experience of discrimination remains a prominent concern for individuals in committed interracial relationships. Black male-white female interracial relationships are considered the most stigmatised form of relationship, and these relationships are at risk of experiencing the severest forms of discrimination. Various studies have examined the phenomenon of interracial relationships, considering these relationships from theoretical perspectives that sought to explain the union between individuals of different races. In addition to seeking causal explanations for the manifestation of committed interracial relationships, perspectives from family members and society as a whole have been investigated. Studies that explore the subjective experiences of individuals in committed interracial relationships are scarce, and research of such a nature is especially limited within the South African context. South African research that seeks to give a voice to white women in committed interracial relationships with black men, and in particular their experience of discrimination, is currently unavailable. Therefore, this study aimed to elicit untainted first-person descriptions of the lived experience and the associated meaning of discrimination experienced by white women in interracial relationships with black men within the South African context. A descriptive phenomenological research paradigm and method were deemed appropriate for the exploration and depiction of the phenomenon. Three white females in committed interracial relationships with black males were sourced and interviewed for the purpose of this study. These women have been in committed relationships with their partners for more than two years, and disclosed the actual experience of discrimination as a result of their relationship. Open-ended interviews were conducted in order to elicit rich and in-depth descriptions of the participants’ lived experiences of discrimination as a result of being in committed interracial relationships. The interviews were transcribed verbatim with the inclusion of non-verbal cues where relevant. The data analysis was conducted using a phenomenological approach, which involved various steps that were followed sequentially. Salient themes that emerged from the individual participant’s interview were integrated to form a structure that communicated the essence of discrimination as experienced by the particular participant. Consequently, the common themes that surfaced transversely from all three participants’ interviews were synthesised and discussed in light of the current literature. The integration and discussion of the salient themes and related literature had the purpose to identify similarities and idiosyncrasies of the lived experience of discrimination by white women in committed interracial relationships with black men within the South African context. The results of this study suggest that the experience of discrimination by white women in committed interracial relationships with black men includes several core aspects. The themes describing the phenomenon may be understood within the following broad terms: discrimination is experienced in various contexts and from various people; discrimination is experienced either directly or indirectly by an individual in an interracial relationship; discrimination manifests in either negative or positive encounters; discrimination evokes various emotional responses and is dealt with in various ways; discrimination, although a personal experience, impacts on the interracial relationship in either a negative or positive manner. Discrimination is thus both an intrapersonal and an interpersonal phenomenon. The research findings are valuable in that existing literature is verified and new insights, with regards to the experience of discrimination by women in committed interracial relationships within the South African context, are provided. Based on the conclusions of this study, several suggestions have been made to encourage further research relating to this area of study.

For a variety of reasons Whites often expect negative interracial interactions. Previous research suggests that negative expectations for interracial interactions often lead to negative interaction experiences. Specifically, interracial interactions are experienced as cognitively depleting, engendering of negative affect, and devoid of behavioral mimicry"u2014a nonconscious behavior that engenders liking, and smooth, harmonious interactions. Because individuals do not expect mimicry in interracial interactions, when mimicry is present individuals experience cognitive depletion. While the majority of research has focused on how White individuals"' expectations for interracial interactions lead to self-regulatory efforts that ultimately are cognitively depleting, the present research proposes that the behaviors of one"'s interaction partner must also be considered. It was predicted that Whites who expect positive interracial interactions would not experience cognitive depletion when mimicked by a Black person, but would experience depletion when they are not mimicked. Conversely, Whites expecting a negative interracial interaction were predicted to experience cognitive depletion when mimicked by a Black person, but would not experience depletion when not mimicked. Findings revealed that the interaction between mimicry and interaction expectations on cognitive depletion was not significant. Counter to predictions, those with positive interaction expectations experienced the most cognitive depletion following an interracial interaction. Consistent with predictions, significant interactions between mimicry and interaction expectations revealed that, for those with positive expectations, not being mimicked was associated with decreased positive affect and increased negative affect. These findings suggest that mimicry in interracial interactions may not be counternormative for those who expect positive interactions, and its absence (rather than its presence) may lead to negative emotional outcomes. / 1 / Tara Van Bommel

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Kent State University, 2008. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Jan. 5, 2010). Advisor: Cynthia Osborn. Keywords: interracial marriage, African American and Caucasian interracial marriage, multicultural marriages, Q methodology, prejudice, black and white marriages, miscegenation, anti-miscegenation, perceptions of interracial marriages, Black studies, Black history. Includes bibliographical references (p. 269-286).

Implicit Attitudes of Counselor Trainees toward Black-White Couples Inter-racial couples developed as soon as European men landed on the coast of North America. Historically, these relationships were considered deviant and unacceptable. The attitudes towards interracial marriages are improving, however, the incidence of interracial dating and marriage, especially among Blacks and Whites, remains low in the United States (White & White, 2000). As the acceptance of interracial marriages increases, the rate of interracial marriages also increases. With the increasing number of inter-racial couples in the United States the probability that counselors will have contact with a Black-White couple increases also. It is important for the counselors to have accepting attitudes towards these couples to be effective in the treatment of these couples. The Implicit Association Test (IAT) measured the implicit attitudes of the participants toward black-white couples. This study included a comparison of attitudes based on demographic factors such as sex, age, education, region of the US, socioeconomic status, home setting, and multicultural awareness and knowledge as measured by the Multicultural Knowledge and Awareness Scale (MCKAS). In addition, a multiple linear regression will determine which of these variables is best able to predict the participants’ attitudes. The results showed there is a significant difference in attitudes toward interracial couples between demographic subgroups of the variable age. However, there were no significant differences in attitudes between the subgroups of the variables education, socioeconomic status, sex, race, region of the country, community type and size. The regression analyses found MCKAS was the one variable that could predict scores on the IAT. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

Thesis (M.S.W.)--Smith College School for Social Work, Northampton, Mass., 2007 / Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment for the degree of Master of Social Work. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 105-111).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2002. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 212-224).