Deferred Religious Coping as a Stabilizing Stress Response for Happily Married, Middle- and Old-Age African American Couples

Systemic stressors often contribute to African American couples experiencing higher rates of dissolution and instability than their White counterparts. Research suggests that religious beliefs and practices may be important in helping them marry and remain married. However, reliance on common measures of religiosity—such as church attendance—limits our understanding of the nuances contributing to maintaining strong marital bonds. This study addresses this gap by examining religious coping, generally, and deferred religious coping, specifically, among middle- and old-age African American couples in enduring marriages. Semistructured interviews with 35 African American couples in long-term marriages revealed that each couple reported high levels of marital happiness and a strong sense that their family lives were guided by their religious beliefs. Qualitative data were analyzed through open coding and numeric content analysis. Three salient themes emerged regarding deferred religious coping and alleviation of social and relational burdens among couples: (1) “Sometimes you must give your marriage to God,” (2) “Don’t let work stress become work distress,” and (3) “In sickness and in health, but really in sickness.” Each theme provides depth in understanding how, why, and when strong African American couples use deferred religious coping to address issues that could threaten relational stability.