Marital satisfaction, acceptance, and use of coping strategies in married Asian Indian and Caucasian interracial couples

This critical literature review documents and critiques the peer-reviewed research pertaining to the impact of factors of marital satisfaction, acceptance, and use of coping strategies in married Asian Indian and Caucasian interracial couples. The literature search presented a variety of results, suggesting these factors are significantly impacted by influences such as geographical location, age, and culture. For this dissertation, literature examining cultural differences between collectivistic and individualistic frameworks in individuals rather than couples was also included. Sixty-five peer-reviewed quantitative (n = 51), qualitative (n = 10), and mixed method studies (n = 4) are reviewed. The results of several studies analyzed for this literature review reveal that interracial marriages tend to have less longevity, stability, and satisfaction than same-race marriages overall. Research has suggested that collaborative coping is an effective means of overcoming some of the negative effects of cultural and systemic factors on interracial marriages. A major finding of this literature review is that only major qualitative study (Inman et al., 2011) has been conducted to examine the marital experiences of Asian Indian and Caucasian couples. Future research needs to include more qualitative analyses on this particular population to gain more current and thorough data on the marital experiences of Asian Indian and Caucasian couples.