Romantic Relationships Among Unmarried African Americans and Caribbean Blacks: Findings From the National Survey of American Life*

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3729.2008.00498.x
• Date: 01 April 2008
• Author: James S. Jackson,Robert Joseph Taylor,Karen D. Lincoln
• Published date: 01 April 2008

Romantic Relationships Among Unmarried African

Americans and Caribbean Blacks: Findings From the

National Survey of American Life*

Karen D. Lincoln Robert Joseph Taylor James S. Jackson**

Abstract: This study investigated the correlates of relationship satisfaction, marriage expectations, and relationship

longevity among unmarried African American and Black Caribbean (Caribbean Black) adults who are in a romantic

relationship. The study used data from the National Survey of American Life, a national representative sample of

African Americans and Caribbean Blacks in the United States. The findings indicated that the correlates of relation-

ship satisfaction, expectations of marriage, and relationship longevity were different for African Americans and Black

Caribbeans. For Black Caribbeans, indicators of socioeconomic status were particularly important correlates of rela-

tionship satisfaction. For African Americans, indicators of parental status were important for relationship longevity.

Policy and practice implications for nonmarital unions are discussed.

Key Words: African Americans, Afro-Caribbeans, cohabitation, marriage, romantic relationships, socioeconomic

status, West Indians.

The number of unmarried adults in the United

States has increased dramatically over the past four

decades. The decline in marriage has been particu-

larly pronounced among African Americans (African

American Healthy Marriage Initiative, 2000). How-

ever, declining marriage rates do not mean a decline

in romantic relationships. The majority of investiga-

tions on nonmarital unions focus primarily on tran-

sitions to marriage. Although these studies are

important for identifying barriers and facilitating

factors for marriage entry, they provide less informa-

tion about the nature of romantic unions among

unmarried adults that may or may not end in mar-

riage. The focus of this investigation is to examine

the correlates of relationship satisfaction, expecta-

tions of marriage, and relationship longevity among

unmarried African Americans and Caribbean Blacks.

Studies of nonmarital romantic relationships

among cohabiting and noncohabiting adults are

important for at least two reasons. First, fewer cohab-

iting unions are resulting in marriage, and this is

more likely the case for African Americans (Schoen

& Owens, 1992) and Caribbean Blacks (Coppin,

2000). Consequently, there is growing recognition

among researchers that not all cohabitations are part

of the process leading to marriage and are instead

alternative forms of union (Smock, 2000). Second,

few studies account for whether unmarried respon-

dents are coupled but not cohabiting.

Most studies examining social life among Black

Americans have ignored the cultural and economic

diversity within the Black population in the United

States. Blacks are usually treated as a monolith, with-

out regard to ancestry or ethnicity. Yet, the Black

*The National Survey of American Life was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH; U01-MH57716) with supplemental support from the Office

of Behavioral and Social Science Research at the National Institutes of Health and the University of Michigan. The preparation of this manuscript was supported

by grants from the NIMH (K01-MH69923) to Dr. Lincoln and the National Institute on Aging to Dr. Taylor (R01-AG18782) and Drs. Jackson and Taylor

(P30-AG15281). The authors would like to thank Dr. David H. Chae for his valuable assistance with the data analysis for this study.

**Karen D. Lincoln is an assistant professor of Social Work at the University of Southern California, 669 W 34th Street, MRF 327, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0411

(klincoln@usc.edu). Robert Joseph Taylor is Associate Dean for Research and Sheila Feld Collegiate Professor in the School of Social Work at the University of Michi-

gan, 1080 S. University Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1106 (rjtaylor@umich.edu). James S. Jackson is Professor of Psychology and Director of the Institute for Social

Research at the University of Michigan, 426 Thompson Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1248 (jamessj@umich.edu).

Family Relations, 57 (April 2008), 254–266. Blackwell Publishing.

Copyright 2008 by the National Council on Family Relations.