Financial Issues in Strong African American Marriages: A Strengths-Based Qualitative Approach

Objective: We examined the role financial issues played in African Americans' marriages using a strengths-based perspective. Background: Few studies have examined the importance of finances in African Americans' marriages. Those that have done so have mostly focused on money as a stressful contextual problem. Allowing African American couples to describe their own marital experiences expands our understanding regarding the interface of finances and relationships. Method: Using qualitative data from 37 African American couples (N=74 individuals) who felt they had strong marriages, we took a phenomenological approach to identify themes in the data. Results: Many participants portrayed money as a stressor. Furthermore, participants discussed financial behaviors and attitudes that helped their marriages be strong. Finally, participants described transcending, or rising above, financial issues. Conclusion: The participants in this study, African Americans who felt they were in strong marriages, talked about the marital role of finances in multiple ways. It was clear that they actively strived to shape the way that financial issues influenced their marriages, whether through making decisions that would help them financially and relationally or by shifting their focus to more important matters like the well-being of family members.