| Studies of race and marital satisfaction tend to find that overall African Americans experience less marital satisfaction than other races such as whites, Hispanics and Afro Caribbean; African-American women experience less marital satisfaction compared to African-American men and their Hispanic, white and Afro-Caribbean male and female counterparts; and African Americans are more likely to think about getting a divorce. In addition, African Americans have lower rates of marriage and marital stability than all other ethnic groups. The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of social networks on marital satisfaction. Social network relationships are characterized by mutual aid and reciprocity of support. Marital satisfaction refers to an individual's subjective assessment of his or her marriage. The theoretical framework utilized is systems theory which states that married individuals maintain boundaries with their social networks and the type of boundaries maintained will determine the level of marital satisfaction. Ecological theory and intersectionality theory are also utilized as a lens for understanding both race/ethnic differences and gender differences. This secondary data analysis utilizes data from The National Survey of American Life (NSAL): Coping with Stress in the 21 st Century which is a cross-sectional study that consists of face-to face interviews. The sample includes individuals who identify as African American, Afro Caribbean or white and are married. Bivariate tests and Multinomial logistic regression will be used to analyze the association between social networks and marital satisfaction. The findings from this study reveal racial/ethnic by gender differences, family social network, friend social network, emotional support, and negative emotional interaction impact marital satisfaction. |
