Introduction
The subject of family in the sociological arena has been studied and researched by several scholars. Explanations of the characteristic features and behavioral patterns of the family have been discussed in many journals and books. One journal in particular has discussed this issue in detailed and its explanations have been so vividly done such that the issue is fully understood.
The journal is entitled, family matters: Even in marriage: Identifying factors linked to marital outcomes for African Americans. The authors are Chalandra M. Bryant, K.A.S. Wickrama, John Bolland, Barlynda M. Bryant, Carolyn E. Cutrona and Christine E. Stanik. It was first published online in August 2010.
The journal mainly focuses on marriage in the African-American society. The authors did a prolific research in trying to find out the characteristic features which are special to these types of families. They also tried to crystallize out the differences between the African-America families to those of the other families.
Method
The researchers developed a broad conceptual framework which involved primary marital concepts of which the concepts emanated from psychological points of view which were shown to vary across the races. As an example the authors explain this hypothesis as if we look at the stressful part, individuals’ and couples’ resources will meditate and moderate the association between the causes of the particular stress and the welfare of the marriage.
Also the authors did an extensive review of available literature such which resulted in their identification of important findings on the rudimentary constituents in this conceptual framework. The methods include focusing on literature which talked about the description of Africa-American families (Bryant et al 7).
Stress and Welfare of the Family
Persistent stressful conditions have harmful effects on the general welfare in the marital situations. Consequence of stressful life in the African-American home includes increasing prevalence of divorce and poor marital quality. Thus the fewer socio-economic opportunities in African-American homes causes them to have a low socio-economic standard in America. Thus due to their low socio-economic status they are more and more exposed to stressful conditions (Bryant et al 8).
Unemployment and Lack of Money
Economic situations do have a direct impact on the behavioral characteristics of interaction activities of couples. According to recent research, marriage in African-Americans decreased because there was an increase in the rate of unemployment among the African-Americans. Poor African-American families have a tendency to reside in inner city regions where there are low quality resources and services. This is less likely with the white communities who are economically disadvantaged (Bryant et al 9).
The researchers used a sample of African-American families to substantiate that economic advantaged families live happily in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods. This is because most of the married couples enjoy relative affluence compared to their neighbors.
Status of the Workplace
Low status jobs such as those jobs which require few skills make people think of themselves as they belong to the lower status. This is also similar to when a person works in poor working conditions, or when a person works in areas that require little self direction. These families have undergone through such humiliation and have been worsened by the fact that most of these families are involved in service rendering jobs (Bryant et al 13).
The Extended Families
Due to their cultural affiliations, the African American society has an obligation to attend to their extended families. Thus there is a high sense of familial duty in these families which have been cemented by the obligations to their relatives beyond the nuclear family. These families have a high likelihood of living with the extended family. The relatives tend to seek financial help from their middle class counterparts thereby creating a set of normative expectations of socio-economic support (Bryant et al 14).
Children
According to past and recent research, marital satisfaction decrease with the birth of children. In the African American society it has been studied that 55% of the couples enter into marriage with at least one child. This is comparative to 22% of the white community who enter into marriage with at least one child. The stress created in this situation can affect the interaction of couples thus creating the relationship between the couples to be hostile or cold. Other status such as racial discrimination does also add to this stress (Bryant et al 15).
Race of the Family
The racial identity of a person is important since individuals identify themselves with particular cultures which are significantly different from others. Mature racial identity is not experienced in all African American families. This is because the racial identity will be different among every person. In couples who exhibit a mature racial identity, there are a decreased number of stressors. Mismatching along racial lines may also incite conflict (Bryant et al 15).
Authors’ Views
The authors propose that several pathways be used both directly and indirectly to come between stressors and the marital outcomes of the African American society. Thus a study in which these factors are investigated can be an eye opener to understanding how the African American society operates. Thus future research should focus at exploring the bridge between outcomes of a marital affair and the health of African Americans since the health issues were not researched upon (Bryant et al 32).
Conclusion
There are several factors which affect the welfare of the African American family. As discussed above, the factors range from racial differences to economic disparity between the African Americans and the whites. Living and working conditions do also have an impact on the socioeconomic status of an individual. Thus if a permanent solution that will fight off these factors is found the African American society will have an equal socioeconomic status with their white counterparts.
Works Cited
Bryant, Chalandra et al. “Race Matters, Even in Marriage: Identifying Factors Linked to Marital Outcomes for African Americans.” John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2010. 3rd Nov 2010.