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An examination of the correlation between never married, heterosexual Black males' self-reported experiences of racism and their desire to marry
Dissertation   Open access

An examination of the correlation between never married, heterosexual Black males' self-reported experiences of racism and their desire to marry

Racine R. Henry
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Drexel University
Jun 2015
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/etd-6411
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Abstract

Family psychotherapy
The topics of love and intimate relationships maintain a constant presence in popular and empirical discourse. Romantic relationships in the Black community have been of particular interest in the last decade and several researchers have developed connections between the low rate of Black marriages to the historical enslavement of African people in the United States (Bryant, Taylor, Lincoln, Chatters, & Jackson, 2008; Cherlin, 1998; Cole & Omari, 2003; Dickson, 1993; Jones, 2006; Landrine & Klonoff, 1996; Lawrence-Webb, Littlefield & Okundaye, 2004; Raley, 1996). Despite the apparent interest in "Black love", Black men are repeatedly excluded from research studies as viable subjects (Jenkins, 2006; Hurt, 2012; Roberts, 1994). Experiences of racism are prevalent for Black men, as with all Black people, and have extensive ramifications (Bonilla-Silva, 2006; Byrd & Clayton, 2000, 2002; Feagin & Spikes, 1994; Jones, 1997; LaVeist, 2002; Pinderhughes, 2002; Utsey & Ponterotto, 1996; West, 2001). One area, which is significantly impacted by racism, is family formation and, more specifically, the formation and maintenance of healthy partner relationships. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine whether experiences of racism impact desire to get married for never married, heterosexual Black men between age 18 and 45. A survey tool was used to administer two measurements: the Desire to Marry Scale (South, 1993), which measured marriage desirability, and the Schedule of Racist Events (Landrine & Klonoff, 1996), which measured perceived experiences of racism. Additionally, demographic information such as age, income, education, etc. was gathered.

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