Author : Kristin Michele Smith
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781339219769
Total Pages : 240 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (197 download)
Book Synopsis African American Adolescent Perceptions of Marriage by : Kristin Michele Smith
Download or read book African American Adolescent Perceptions of Marriage written by Kristin Michele Smith and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Marital trends in the United States have changed tremendously and individuals live as unmarried couples, marry later in life or not at all, and have children prior to marriage more often than they did in the past (Willoughby, 2010). These behaviors occur significantly more often for the Black population than for other racial groups (Crissey, 2005). Proposed contributors to the decreased rates of marriage for the African American population include, but are not limited to, concerns about finances, trust, and loss of social freedom when considering marriage (King & Allen, 2009). African American adolescents also report an expectation to marry in the future significantly less than White adolescents (Crissey, 2005). This suggests that African American youth may internalize culturally relevant ideas about marriage cited in research about African American adults. The current study looked at the relationship between general marital attitudes, culturally relevant ideas (e.g., financial, commitment concerns) about marriage, parental marital status over the course of the lifespan, and socioeconomic status. Results indicated that African American adolescents with continuously married parents over their lifespan felt more positively about marriage in general than those who had unmarried parents at any point. General ideas about marriage were negatively associated with culturally relevant beliefs about marriage, and those who felt more positively about marriage in general were less likely to endorse culturally relevant ideas. Parental marital status at birth was not associated with adolescents' general marital attitudes about marriage, and socioeconomic status was overall a stronger predictor of both African American adolescents' general ideas, and culturally relevant beliefs about marriage than parental marital status.