Beyond The Healthy Marriage Initiative

To learn about families from a new perspective, I had the opportunity to work as a research assistant in Today’s Couples and Families research lab, which aimed to better understand modern couples and

Methods. The qualitative method proposed for gathering data is a longitudinal cohort study. Participants in the study include couples who have been married in the year 2015. The participants will include 20 couples from each of the 50 states. 10 of the couples will have cohabited prior to marriage

Divorce is the legal severing of marital bonds and is on the rise in North America. In 2011, divorce in Blacks or African Americans is at an all-time high. Divorce has many implications for a society. If current trends continue, researches postulated that if African American children were not born outside of wedlock, the African American population would fail to reproduce itself and would rapidly die off. Blacks who are married live longer, are wealthier, happier, and choose healthy behaviors compared to Blacks who are divorced. Many Blacks living in the South or the “Bible Belt” of America profess faith in Christ or other spiritual connections, are often frequent

The late Dr. Martin Luther King could have never fathomed the epic fail of the modern day African-American society that he worked so hard to establish. “The truth is that we are now a two-family nation, separate and unequal—one thriving and intact, and the other struggling, broken, and far too often African-American”(Hymowitz, 2005). While marriage tends to create a stable home for family and children to thrive, many blacks find themselves

The community in which I reside is a very rural setting. It has not ascribed to the marriage covenant movement per say, however, the state has mandated that all marriage license fees be reduced by $32.50 if the couple completes marriage counseling sessions of at least four hours. This counseling must have taken place no sooner than one year prior to the date on the marriage license application.[1]

In this paper I will discuss divorce trends and the break-up of the black family. We will identify the roots of divorce, the slave experience and how this has carried over into today’s society. We know that divorce exists across all races, all ethnicities and in every area of the world but will focus our attention to the population that seems to have the largest rate of divorce, one text suggests the rate as being 47 percent among the black community (Lauer, 2012)

Take a step back, check the history books about African Americans, and observe the importance of the family. “Historically, strong marriages and commitment to family life have been central features of African-American families (Murphy).” So in reality, marriage has been the groundwork of the home by keeping the home intact; having a foundation is a major key because it creates stability not only for the children but for the adults. “Today the desire to marry seems to be less prevalent in the middle class because women feel they do not need a husband for economic support, and for the low income

The purpose of this paper is to examine the field of marriage and family counseling beginning with the history and development of the profession and its importance in the field of counseling. This paper will also evaluate five major themes relevant to Marriage and Family Therapy which include: roles of Marriage and Family Therapists; licensure requirements and examinations; methods of supervision; client advocacy; multiculturalism and diversity. The author will discuss significant aspects to the field of Marriage and Family Therapy such as MFT identity, function, and ethics of the profession. This paper will assess biblical values in relation to Marriage and Family Therapists and to the field

As little kids we all have dreams of having that perfect family, only to usually be disappointed in some way or another. Since my first marriage failed do to infidelity I am determined to make my current marriage work. While reading The Family You’ve Always Wanted, I felt encouraged by the stories that Gary Chapman shared. One of the biggest things that stood out to me was that he turned his “marriage from withering to thriving” (Chapman, 2008, p. 21). This gives me hope that I can also turn my marriage around, but we must be willing to serve.

Marriage requires effort and work. Many newlyweds come into a marriage thinking it is easy but do not consider the consequences of marriage that heavily rely on balances and partnership. Marriage is all about compromise. It is important to engage in a premarital program to allow both partners to learn what to expect within a marriage, how to face certain roadblocks, and to better communication when conflict is aroused so that divorce does not become an option. Gottman’s research (2009) has made a significant contribution to the study of relationship and marriage tying unity, harmony, and communication together to make relationship and marriage work. When a couple who does not have consummate love (intimacy, passion, and commitment), they often portray the six indicators of divorce: harsh startup, the Four Horsemen, flooding, body language, failed repair attempts and reflecting on bad memories (Gottman, 2009). Divorce often occurs within the first two years of marriages and almost half of divorces end within the first seven years (Bhutto-Ramirez, 2015).

Chicago is mostly populated by Caucasian’s (32 %), African Americans (31.4%), and Hispanics (28.8%). With these percentages so close I creates wide range of culture throughout the city. Denver is similar in which the three races that populate the city most are Caucasians (53.3%), African Americans (9.4%), and Hispanics (30.9%). The big difference is that Denver has a higher rate of Caucasians by 21.3 % and a lower rate of African Americans by 22%, the Hispanic % is very similar in both cities. Within these races our different forms of relationship status, including Never married, married, separated, widowed, divorce. Denver’s adult population consists mostly of married couples (37.8%) and never married (43.7%). The remaining demographics are divorced partners (11%), separated (5.1%), and widowed (2.4%). Chicago compares to Denver in which married couples (33.9%) and never married people (49.8%) are the highest percentages by quite the margin. Chicago’s divorced (8%), separated (5.7%), and widowed (2.5%) adult’s percentages are just slightly different to Denver’s. One last note is the male and female ratio, Denver’s gender ratio is 50.1:49.9 or just about 1:1. On the other hand, Chicago differs, there male to female ratio is 51.5:48.5, consisting of less women unfortunately. Denver and Chicago are two very different cities, but when looking at ethnic origin, relationship status and male to female ratio, only one stat

The two articles used were “Understanding the Occurrence of Interracial Marriage in the United States through Differential Assimilation” (Lewis, Ford- Robinson, 2010) and “Marital Dissolution among Interracial Couples” (Zhang, Van Hook, 2009). The first article “Understanding the Occurrence of Interracial Marriage in the United States through Differential Assimilation”, spoke about the unprecedented changes that our society is going though in the 21st century.

The law forbidding interracial marriage was terminated in 1967, and in the midst of rapid racial change, one fact is unmistakable: A growing number of Americans are showing that we all can get along by forming relationships and families that cross all color lines. In the past couple decades, the number of interracial marriages has increased dramatically. Interracial dating and marrying is described as the dating or marrying of two people of different races, and it is becoming much more common to do so. Thirty years ago, only one in every 100 children born in the United States was of mixed race. Today, the number is one in 19. In some states, such as California and Washington, the number is closer to one in 10 (Melting Pot).

Since the nineteenth century began, the American family has gone through many changes. Among the many changes that researchers have studied, a few of these changes have been very apparent. The evolution and structure of American households have never seemed to be more diverse than they are now in these modern times. Families have become more racially, religiously, and ethnically diverse (Angier, 2013). Although some still frown upon it, one marrying another person of a different race is much more common and accepted now. Individuals of different religions will marry one another and find ways to make it work. People from different cultures have also come together and formed families. Overall, today’s society seems to be much more accepting than in the beginning of the nineteenth century.

Marriage is one of the most essential factors of human life. It creates the basis for everyone to pursue a better, healthier, and happier life. However, it is the fact that there are more and more couples marrying and then ending up with divorce, and this rate is increasing faster year by year. Actually, all the divorce cases are originated from some of the forms of emotional illness that gradually appear in each partner during the time of their relationship. It is good to cure these forms of emotional illness to solve the martial problems of the specific patients. However; it is absolutely the best when the original