Despite a growing literature on transnational couples, little is known about the challenges they face. The aim of this paper is to study these challenges and to identify coping strategies. In order to understand these issues, qualitative, semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven couples. Responders consisted of partners from different cultural backgrounds and were either married or in a romantic relationship. The paper looked at the cultural changes that lead up to the acceptance and growth in transnational relationships. Furthermore, the study examined how these changes have affected and are still affecting the individual couples. Through the interviews, the research looked at the interpersonal dynamics to identify the role of culture within the relationships. Culture, it was found, still plays a great role in the day-to-day life of the transnational couples, in spite of the shift from traditional to more liberal values identified in the study. The challenges faced by the couples were very different from each other as the study represented couples from different backgrounds together with their partner, a native Swede. However, a common issue among the couples was communication breakdowns and a lack of understanding of the partner’s background.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:hj-25811 |
| Date | January 2014 |
| Creators | Berglund, Nonhlanhla, Hedin, Simon |
| Publisher | Högskolan för lärande och kommunikation, Högskolan i Jönköping, HLK, Globala studier, Högskolan för lärande och kommunikation, Högskolan i Jönköping, HLK, Globala studier |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
| Relation | Dissertation. School of Education and Communication, 1652-7933, Nonhlanhla Berglund |
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