The Communication Process of Interracial Couples Discussing Race: A Grounded Theory

Minority stress is defined as the excess stress experienced by individuals belonging to marginalized communities (Meyer, 1995; 2003). Dyadic stress is seen as resulting from both within the couple and external factors (Bodenmann, 1995). Interracial couples may experience added distress due to social stigma against their relationship. Racial discrimination has been seen to negatively affect the quality and satisfaction of interracial relationships (Lemay & Teneva, 2020). Communication has been noted to be a helping factor for interracial couples to combat against minority stress dyadically, however how the communication about racism and discrimination among the couple occurs has not been outlined. The research questions being examined in this story are: 1) What is the communication process of interracial couples discussing race and discrimination with each other, and 2) What was the impact of the conversation(s) on the partners and their relationship? In this study, I interviewed ten (10) interracial couples where at least one (1) partner was White. I used constructive grounded theory analysis to formulate a model of the process of race communication in interracial couples. This model, entitled the Interracial Couple Race Communication Model (Figure 1) details the four unique themes of the resulting theory: observation making, engaging in race communication, building understanding, and applying understanding. Lastly, I provide an in-depth interpretation of my findings, discussion of clinical implications, study contributions, and future research directions.