| African American marital quality and stability have received scarse empirical inquiry despite the popular attention given to declining marriage among African Americans (Allen & Olson, 2001). In 2001, approximately 62% of non-Hispanic Whites and Asians, 60% of Hispanics, and 42% of African Americans were married. Further, while 35% of Americans between ages 24 and 34 have never married, the percentage for African Americans is 54%. This identifies a serious need for more research on African American marriages; specifically aimed at exploring strengths and ways to better address challenges among African American couples (Allen & Olson, 2001).;This non-experimental pretest-posttest correlational survey study examined the relationship between participant training in the R.E.A.C.H. Forgiveness Pyramid Model (Worthington, 1998) and forgiveness and relationship adjustment. The sample included 37 African American Christian heterosexual married couples belonging to churches in Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. Participants' ages ranged from 25 to 65 years.;Study findings revealed a positive association between the R.E.A.C.H. Forgiveness Pyramid Model training and couples' reported forgiveness and relationship adjustment. Thus forgiveness interventions with African American Christian heterosexual married couples may promote forgiveness, leading to higher relationship adjustment and satisfaction. Couple and family therapists should therefore recognize forgiveness interventions as a viable strategy for empowering African Americans to effectively address and heal from relational injuries. Consequently, relationship quality and stability may be enhanced for African Americans. Moreover, couple and family therapists should acknowledge religion and culture as critically important contexts in therapy. Historically, religion has held a prominent role in the African American community and African Americans have been uniquely impacted by race and racism.;Study limitations include the lack of generalizability and possible confounding variables, such as the forgiveness workshop being held in a church and a predominantly middle class, ethnically homogeneous sample. Future research should include lower class African Americans and attend to the possibility of confounding variables. |
