The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe the processes of change for female victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) who successfully completed a domestic-violence focused couples treatment (DVFCT) program with their male partners. Enhancing our understanding of the change processes for women who choose to remain in their relationships helps therapists develop more effective IPV treatment models when both partners are involved in treatment. While a goal of DVFC treatment is to end the violence, this study highlights the changes women victims made and how they evolved throughout the treatment process. This study describes those changes in order to develop targeted interventions to bring these changes about more purposefully. Two women were selected from a pool of 30 women who successfully participated in a 12 session DVFC treatment program. Videotapes of 12 couples therapy sessions were analyzed using modified analytic induction (Manning, 1991). The Transtheoretical Model (TTM) (Prochaska & DiClemente, 1982, 1984) processes of change guided the analysis. Using modified analytic induction, we described participants changes in attitudes and behaviors and the identifiable markers of these changes. Findings highlight a relational change process between spouses. / Master of Science

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how race-related stress influenced marital satisfaction among ten African American married couples. Each couple participated in a 60 to 90 minute interview and completed a measure of marital satisfaction. Using phenomenology, symbolic interactionism, and family systems theory as a theoretical lens, this study described how African American married couples came to understand if and how the phenomenon of race-related stress influenced their marital satisfaction, and what meanings they created from this experience. Using modified analytic induction, couples discussed how their individual factors influenced their perceptions of race-related stress. Race-related stress couples also discussed how the phenomenon strengthened and challenged their marital satisfaction. It was also discovered that couples with race-related stress developed ways of coping with race-related stress in an effort to protect their marital satisfaction. One of the ten couples reported not experiencing race-related stress. A conceptual model, future research, and clinical implications from these findings are discussed. / Master of Science