St. Cloud State University theRepository at St. Cloud State Culminating Projects in Community Psychology, Department of Community Psychology, Counseling Counseling and Family Therapy and Family Therapy 12-2015 The Relationship Experience of Latina/o-White Couples Dana I. Nixon
[email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.stcloudstate.edu/cpcf_etds Recommended Citation Nixon, Dana I., "The Relationship Experience of Latina/o-White Couples" (2015). Culminating Projects in Community Psychology, Counseling and Family Therapy. 10. https://repository.stcloudstate.edu/cpcf_etds/10 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Community Psychology, Counseling and Family Therapy at theRepository at St. Cloud State. It has been accepted for inclusion in Culminating Projects in Community Psychology, Counseling and Family Therapy by an authorized administrator of theRepository at St. Cloud State. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. The Relationship Experience of Latina/o-White Couples by Dana Nixon A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of St. Cloud State University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Marriage and Family Therapy December, 2015 Thesis Committee: Jennifer Connor, Chairperson Manijeh Daneshpour Tina Sacin 2 Abstract Interethnic Latina/o-white couples are becoming more common, yet little is understood about why these couples stay together or get divorced (Fu & Wolfinger, 2011; Garcia, Riggio, Palavinelu, & Culpepper, 2012; Qian & Lichter, 2007). This study uses phenomenology methodology to better understand their lived experience. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with five Latino-white couples and one Latina-white couple. The five themes discovered include interethnic couple identity; combining languages; external support of the relationship; external stressors of the relationship; and partaking in the partner’s culture.