Ethnicity
The majority of research on conflict in romantic relationships has used samples that were mostly White. There are exceptions such as the Early Years of Marriage (EYM) Project (Veroff, Douvan, & Hatchett, 1995), a longitudinal study that examined both African American and White married couples.
The EYM Project suggested many similarities between White and Black dyads in terms of conflict, but it also indicated some important differences. As newlyweds, Black and White couples report similar frequencies of conflict, but compared with their White counterparts, Black spouses report a significantly smaller number of areas of disagreement (Oggins, Veroff, & Leber, 1993) and significantly fewer conflict issues pertaining to their partner’s family (Timmer, Veroff, & Hatchett, 1996). Also, marital discord (e.g., frequency of conflicts) is a predictor of divorce for both Black and White couples (Orbuch et al., 2002).White and Black couples also differ in terms of specific conflict behaviors. Black spouses are significantly more likely to report that they withdraw from conflicts than are White spouses (Oggins et al., 1993). Additionally, whereas wives’ negativity predicts declining marital quality for White couples, Veroff et al. (1995) found no evidence of a similar association for Black dyads. Orbuch and Veroff (2002) explained this finding by arguing that Black spouses are more accepting of negativity than are White spouses; thus, whereas White couples “might be especially put off” (p. 557) by negativity, Black couples might view negativity as a normal part of a close relationship.
Obviously, there is tremendous room for more research on the influence of ethnicity on relational conflict. The extant research suggests that impact of ethnicity can be subtle because there is considerable heterogeneity within ethnic groups. For example, spouses of Mexican origin who live in the United States vary in how much they orient to Mexican culture, and these variations influence marital conflict and how much spouses focus on finding mutually agreeable solutions (Wheeler, Updegraff, & Thayer, 2010).