Nicole Johnson Dissertation

The Institute for Clinical Social Work

Divorce in Black America: Narratives from Divorced Black Men

A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the Institute for Clinical Social Work in Partial Fulfillment of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy

By

Nicole A. Johnson, LCSW

Chicago, Illinois September, 2019

Abstract Marital trends indicate that marriage rates have been declining for Black Americans in the last four decades, while divorce rates continue to be higher for Black Americans than any other racial group. Marriage yields positive effects in Black communities, as indicated by a decrease in teen pregnancy, an increase in educational advancement, and higher self-esteem among the children of married Black adults.

Previous studies concerning marriage in the Black community have focused heavily on the experiences of Black families and single Black women. This study provides a platform for Black American men, who have been a marginalized population with a limited voice within the world of academia and clinical research. This qualitative study, utilizing the three-dimensional narrative inquiry space, explores the experience of divorce with a sample of Black men from the Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan area. From 10 interviews with five divorced Black men, the study found that a lack of provision and guidance from their caregivers, especially their biological fathers; former financial problems; unhealthy or unrealistic understanding of spousal expectations and roles; and risk factors such as impoverished communities greatly influenced their readiness for marriage and impacted their experience of divorce. Findings are understood using selfpsychology and attachment theories. Recommendations are offered to the general social work profession as well as current clinical providers.

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For my Father and Mother Arthur Tyrone and Gloria Antoinette Morton Johnson

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Acknowledgments

My journey to earn my doctorate involved the hard work, patience, knowledge, and dedication of many individuals within the ICSW community. I would like to graciously thank my dissertation committee and readers: James Lampe, PhD; Sue Cebulko, PhD; Joan Servatius, PhD; Jacquelyn Vincson, PhD; and Amy Eldridge, PhD. Each of you have not only been vital to the completion of my dissertation, but also integral in various parts of my development and progression through the doctoral program at the Institute for Clinical Social Work by serving in other capacities such as clinical practicum advisors, professors or both. To my chair, James Lampe, PhD, I would like to extend my appreciation and gratitude for your diligence, consideration, expertise and commitment to my success and the completion of my dissertation.

I would also like to thank faculty members who have consistently and graciously given of themselves to ensure my growth and accomplishments. Specifically, I would like to thank Patricia Seghers, PhD for her continuing support and guidance.

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Table of Contents

Page Abstract..............................................................................................................................ii Acknowledgments.............................................................................................................iv Chapter I.

Introduction................................................................................................1 General Statement of Purpose Significance of the Study for Clinical Social Work Problem Statement Research Question Operational Definitions of Major Concepts Related to the Study Conceptual Definitions of Major Concepts Related to the Study Statement of Assumptions Epistemological Foundation of the Study Foregrounding Chapter Summary

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Table of Contents—Continued

Chapter

Page

II. Literature Review..........................................................................................16 Historical Overview of Black Marriage Literature Review of Historical Perspectives on Black Marriage Psychodynamic Theoretical Framework Chapter Summary III. Methodology.................................................................................................42 Reintroduction of Major Approach and Research Questions Rationale for Qualitative Research Design Restatement of Epistemology Rationale for Specific Methodology Research Sample Research Design Data Collection Data Analysis Ethical Considerations Reliability, Validity, and Trustworthiness Limitations The Researcher’s Role and Background Chapter Summary

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Table of Contents—Continued

Chapter

Page

IV. Results.............................................................................................................66 Introduction of Participants Participants Study Results Chapter Summary V. Discussion and Implications.........................................................................108 Narrative Considerations Summary of Findings Revisiting the Three-Dimensional Narrative Inquiry Space Psychodynamic Theoretical Interpretation Limitations Implications Future Research Conclusion

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Table of Contents—Continued Appendices

Page

A. Flyer................................................................................................................144 B. Initial Introductory Telephone Call Script.................................................146 C. Welcome Email..............................................................................................150 D. Consent Form—Initials................................................................................153 E. Interview Guide.............................................................................................157 F. Consent Form—Institutional Review Board..............................................162 G. Script to Assess Understanding...................................................................167 H. Debriefing Form............................................................................................170 References...........................................................................................................173

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Chapter I

Introduction Statement of Purpose This research study explores the experience of marital dissolution among a segment of Black men in the United States. The purpose of this qualitative study was to analyze the narratives of a specific sample of Black men born between 1970 and 1980 to understand the context and impacts of marital dissolution in their lives. Using a narrative methodology, this study cogitated upon the psychological and sociological effects of divorce on the selected participants. It provides new insights into how the divorce experience affects some Black men and explores the implications of these effects on clinical social work. By conducting this research, the participants’ psychological attitudes about marriage and divorce can be better understood.

The participants in this research study were chosen from the Atlanta, Georgia, metropolitan area. As a result, the definitions of marriage and divorce were taken directly taken from legal statutes listed in Georgia’s state law. According to the government website www.georgia.gov, a legal marriage in Georgia is granted when a probate court issues a marriage certificate to two consenting adults. At the age of 16, individuals are permitted to enter a marital union but must receive parental consent. Individuals must present identifying documentation and complete premarital education and/or pay a marriage license fee. Georgia state law forbids individuals who are closely related either

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by marriage or blood to wed (State of Georgia, n.d.). Furthermore, the State Bar of Georgia (n.d.) asserts In Georgia, a person must be mentally competent to marry, meaning he or she must be capable of understanding the idea of marriage. Also, a person who is already married to someone else cannot legally marry (p. 103). The Georgia Supreme Court issues divorce decrees. Decrees are categorized as contested or uncontested. Each filing is considered based on eligibility requirements and the resolution of property and child custody matters (www.georgia.gov, n.d.).

For this research study, Black marriage is defined as a legal marriage between two heterosexual adults who identify as being of Black or African American decent.

Logically, Black divorce is defined as the dissolution of a legal marital union between two heterosexual adults who identify as Black or African American. The terms African American and Black American, while used interchangeably in many contexts, are not mutually inclusive. The term Black is used to indicate the participants’ ethnicity in this study because of my assumption that the descriptive moniker is broad and inclusive of not only those who identify as African American but those who do not necessarily find the term African American to represent their Black ethnicity efficiently.

Significance of the Study for Clinical Social Work It is important for clinical therapists to gain greater insight into how marital dissolution may affect their Black clients. With additional knowledge and research, clinical treatment can be enhanced to address factors that may impact Black male adults experiencing the termination of their marriages. These factors, such as psychological problems, are related to attachment, fear of intimacy, low self-esteem/efficacy, and

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narcissistic injury. Prior researchers have separated their findings on the effects of divorce into situational, societal, and individual categories. This research provides health professionals with an improved understanding of these groupings while remaining open to additional data collected from the narratives of Black men.

Institutional racism, cultural bias, and the unethical treatment of Black mental health clients and research participants have resulted in misinformation, limited research consideration, and distrust of the health and academia fields with a portion of the Black population (Huang & Coker, 2008; Tillman, 2002). Much of the initial information and traditional, historical perspectives have found that “scholarly, artistic, and literary texts reduced Black males to either submissive, dependent, emasculated shadows of men or violent, destructive beasts (Tucker-Kernan, 1995, p. 27) . . . and popularized denigrating depictions of Black females as seductive wrenches, traitorous mammies, and emasculating matriarchs� (p. 78). It is equally imperative for researchers to not only work to dispel such stereotypes and inaccurate presumptions but also strive to provide an accurate and personal platform for populations that are not properly represented in clinical and academic research.

Statement of the Problem Research indicates that marriage has positive effects on Black families. However, the continuous decline in marriage rates within Black communities in America has been well documented (Malone & Colon, 2007; Amato & Rodgers, 1997). Hence, despite the advantages of marriage, Black adults continue to experience the termination of their marriages at alarming rates (Elliot, Krivickas, Brault, & Kreider, 2012; Hallett, 2011).

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There is limited information on marital dissolution from the viewpoint of Black men, who historically have a limited voice in clinical and academic research.

The decline in marriage rates within the Black community has resulted in negative effects on Black adults, Black children, the community itself, and the broader society.

Research shows that compared with children in single-parent families, Black American children living with their own married parents are less likely to live in poverty, typically benefit from greater parental involvement, are less delinquent, have higher selfesteem, are more likely to delay sexual activity, have lower rates of teen pregnancy, and have better educational outcomes. (Malone & Colon, 2007, p. 2) In a Gallup Poll in 2006, Blacks were more likely than Whites to say that marriage is very important, yet “anecdotal evidence suggests that young Blacks may be losing hope that a good marriage is attainable� (as cited in Malone-Colon, 2007, p. 1). If the institution of marriage has such a positive impact on Black communities in America, why is the hope of obtaining that life goal dwindling? Why are Black adults terminating their marital unions? How does the divorce experience affect them?

Marriage rates in Black America have been steadily declining over the past 10 years (Hallett, 2011). Stark changes in marital rates for Black Americans began as early as the mid-1900s. Until 1970, Black women were more likely to have been married by the age of 35 than White women. However, marital rates have changed dramatically since that time, with an increasing number of Black women never marrying (Blackman, Clayton, Glenn, Malone-Colon, & Roberts, 2005). Furthermore, current research indicates that the median age of marriage as well as rates of divorce are higher for Black men and women than for their White counterparts. (Goldstein & Kenney, 2001;

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McNamee & Raley, 2011; Raley & Bumpass, 2003; Ruggles, 1997; South & Spitze, 1986; Udry, 1966).

Several theorists have attempted to identify reasons for the decline in marriage rates within the Black community. In the literature, most scholars have separated the factors contributing to the changing marriage trends in the Black community. The three major categories of delineation are structural, cultural and individual factors.

The structural factors that scholars and researchers believe directly influence marriage trends in the Black community include the disparity in sex ratios between Black men and women, mass incarceration and drug policies, employment instability, and racism and prejudicial structures within society. One idea is rooted in a lack of financial security (Bennett, Bloom, & Craig, 1989). A key assumption for the change in marriage rates and the increase in marriage age in the Black community is tied to the continuing lack of economic potential for Black men (Elliott et al., 2012; Franke, 1999; Hooks, 2004; Tucker-Kernan, 1995). The assertion is that financial strain greatly limits the pool of viable marriage partners with stable employment and financial security. According to Sampson (1987), from this viewpoint, the major structural determinant of Black family disruption is Black male joblessness. And, in contrast to some versions of the popular “feminization of poverty� argument, Black family disruption is also seen largely as a consequence rather than as a cause of persistent poverty in the Black community. (p. 352) Another theory postulates that the number of eligible men is insufficient due to incarcerations, legal problems, age differences in life expectancy, and/or high homicide rates among young Black men. This is referred to as the marriage squeeze (Bennett et al.,

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1989). Bennett, Bloom and Craig (1989) also pointed to the number of young Black single mothers as a factor in the decline of marriage rates.

Cultural factors believed to impact marriage trends in the Black community include cultural shifts such as parenting and cohabitation before marriage, the increase of interracial marriages, continued gender-related conflicts such as the independence of women, the dramatic shift from familism to individualism, and the promotion of materialism and patriarchy through popular culture (Fitch & Ruggles, 2000; Staples, 1981; Sudarkasa, 1996). Another cultural factor stems from the extension of family kin within the Black community versus the traditional European and American patriarchal family structure (Sudarkasa, 1996). Black communities are characterized by higher rates of drug abuse, dependency on government assistance, single parenthood, and femaleheaded families than other communities in America (Hogan & Kitagawa, 1985; Sampson, 1987; Wilson 1981, 1984; Wilson & Aponte, 1985). Such research may suggest a greater acceptance of extended ties and nontraditional family formation among Blacks.

From an individual standpoint, some therapists surmise that narcissistic injury, fear of loss of self or object, and/or other attachment-related impingements might account for the decline in marriage rates and increase in divorce. Perhaps chronic stress, poverty, and poor family dynamics in early childhood are now creating problems with adult relationships for some in the Black community: “As receptacles for anxiety, conflict, confusion, and contradiction within the social system, Black Americans have been required to live with multiple and ongoing stresses, and their family and couple functioning have become highly vulnerable� (Pinderhughes, 2002, p. 270).

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Although researchers have identified cultural, societal, and psychological circumstances that impact Black marriage, gaps exist in the information available about Black men and their views of marriage and divorce. Further, little is known about how Black men define themselves within or beyond conventional notions of masculinity and manhood or about the effects of that self-awareness on their relationships with others, particularly within the heterosexual marriage covenant as well as when experiencing its termination. An improved understanding of the conditions that impact marriage and ultimately lead to divorce for Black men may help health professionals to better assist clients with processing their experiences of marital disruption, including the personal and social precursors to and the effects of such a life experience.

This study holds importance because limited research is available on Black male views of marital relationships and divorce as well as the effects of their development and psychic reality on these phenomena. Because of the potential detrimental and long-term effects caused by the breakdown of marriage and the increase of single-parent homes in the Black community, it is imperative that clinicians have a role in providing information, prevention, and treatment to individuals on the micro and macro levels to understand the effects of divorce in the Black community. Additional research will provide further understanding of how some Black men feel about marriage and divorce.

Research Question The central research question for this study was: How do Black men in the Atlanta, Georgia, metropolitan area born between 1970 and 1980 experience the termination of their marriages, and what impacts do divorce have on their lives?

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Operational Definitions Black marriage.

For this research study, Black marriage was defined as a marital relationship between an American man and an American woman born between 1970 and 1980, who both identify as Black or African American.

Black divorce.

For this research study, Black divorce was defined as the legal dissolution of a marital union between an American man and an American woman born between 1970 and 1980, who both identify as Black or African American.

Use of Black versus African American terminology.

While used interchangeably in many contexts, the terms African American and Black are not mutually inclusive. The term Black was used to indicate the ethnicity of the participants in this study. This was because of my assumption that the descriptive moniker is broad and inclusive of those who not only identify as African American but those who do not necessarily find African American to represent their Black ethnicity efficiently.

Marriage in the state of Georgia.

According to the Official Code of Georgia Annotated or O.C.G.A (2006), A. to constitute a valid marriage in this state there must be: 1.

Parties able to contract

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2.

An actual contract

3.

Consummation according to the law

B. To be able to contract marriage a person must: 1.

Be of sound mind

2.

Except as provided in subsection (b) of this Code section, be at least 18 years of age;

3.

Have no living spouse of a previous undissolved marriage. The dissolution of a previous in divorce proceedings must be affirmatively established and will not be presumed. Nothing in this paragraph should be misconstrued to affect the legitimacy of children.

4.

Not be related to the prospective spouse by blood or marriage within the prohibited degrees.

C. If either applicant for marriage is 16 or 17 years of age, parental consent as provided in Code Section 19-3-37 shall be required (Ga Code Ann, 19-3-1, 2006).

Divorce in the state of Georgia.

According to the Official Code of Georgia Annotated or O.C.G.A (2016), A. Total divorce is the complete legal dissolution of a marital union.

B. Total divorces may be granted in proper cases by the superior court. Unless an issuable defense is filed as provided by law and a jury trial is demanded in writing by either party on or before the call of the case for trial. In all petitions for divorce and permanent alimony, the judge shall hear and determine the

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issues of law and of fact and any other issues raised in the pleadings. (Ga. Code Ann. § 19-5-1, 2016)

Theoretical Definitions and Concepts Self psychology.

Self psychology is a psychoanalytic school of thought espoused by Heinz Kohut arguing that psychic pathology is a result of deficiencies of the self. According to Kohut (1977), “psychoanalysis is a psychology of complex mental states which with the aid of preserving empathic-introspective immersion of the observer into the inner life of man, gathers its data in order to explain them” (p. 302). Self psychology asserts that psychological evaluation cannot be genuine if it is void of self-examination and empathy.

Three-dimensional narrative inquiry space.

The three-dimensional narrative inquiry space defines a “set of terms that creates a metaphorical three dimensional inquiry space” (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000, p. 50).

This theory is strongly influenced by Dewey’s views about experience and continuity.

According to Clandinin (2013), the three-dimensional space (the space in which we as researchers are situated with our participants) encompasses temporality (experiences are embedded in space/time), sociality (experience is embedded in personal and social contexts), and place (experiences take place in a particular location).

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Attachment theory.

Attachment theory, formulated by John Bowlby, theorizes that individuals seek emotional bonds and relational connectedness with particular others. Bowlby determined that seeking attachment with others results from a need for security and survival, versus the satisfaction of primary drives, as suggested by psychoanalysis (Bowlby, 1977; Zeynep, 1994).

Selfobject needs.

Selfobject needs are defined as inherent, life-long needs for specific inputs from others that are critical for the healthy development and emergence of the self and necessary to maintain cohesion, regulation, and vitality (Wolf, 1994).

Marriage squeeze.

As a well-known theory offered to explain the declining marriage rates in the Black community, the marriage squeeze describes the declining pool of marriageable Black men to Black women as a result of unemployment and crime, resulting in high rates of incarceration and premature deaths (Bramlett & Mosher, 2001).

Uncool.

The term uncool is commonly used slang in the English language. It is defined as having limited self-confidence and refinement or not acting in concurrence with the standard norms of a particular group (American Heritage Dictionary, 2018).

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Statement of Assumptions Based on a preliminary review of current research along with my background and experience, four primary assumptions were made concerning this study. First, marriage rates in America have decreased, particularly in the Black community. This assumption is based on the predominant statistical trends over the past four decades noted in research.

Second, marriage is a socially acceptable norm in American culture. The assumption is based on my experience of the endorsement of an American social structure that values the relational linear progression of courtship to marriage and family building. Third, the participants will provide complete and truthful responses during the interview process.

This assumption was based on the belief that individuals who choose to participate in a research study will be authentic and forthcoming. Fourth, the methodology will articulate the powerful narratives of divorced Black men on the state of marriage and capture the issues related to divorce that may be specific to this population. This assumption was based on the premise that there are specific influences, including cultural, social and familial factors, and that through narrative research, others’ experiences may be used to gather fresh information, offer further understanding of existing data, and catalyze individual and social change.

Epistemological Foundation of the Project Social constructivism deals with the social construction of reality (Clandinin & Connelly, 1990, 2000; Clandinin & Rosiek, 2007; Creswell, 2014; Gergen, 1985). Social

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constructivists consider the results of their scientific inquiry to include rich data from both the living organism and the environment. Equally important to social constructivists is how an individual interacts within the social constructs in which they exist: “Social constructivists hold assumptions that individuals seek understanding of the world in which they live and work” (Creswell, 2008, p. 8). Instead of being observers, social constructivists acknowledge their impact on the research process. Additionally, constructivism recognizes the impacts of cultural, social, and historical factors on the research process and allows for numerous meanings to be applied to an experience or phenomenon. According to Creswell (2008), social constructivist researchers “recognize that their own backgrounds shape their interpretation, and they position themselves in the research to acknowledge how their interpretation flows from their personal, cultural, and historical experiences” (p. 8).

This is a qualitative narrative research study. Narrative research is a term used for a mode of qualitative inquiry. As a method, narrative research can be described as the experiences, expressions, and stories of individuals, for which writers have provided ways to analyze and understand (Creswell, 2007, p. 54).

Purposely, this study utilized the definition of narrative inquiry used by Clandinin and Connelly (2000) of multidimensional research. Influenced by John Dewey’s philosophy and his approach to learning and the application of knowledge, Clandinin and Connelly determined that narrative research is derived from the situation, interaction, and time: Following Dewey’s notion of intersection, by focusing on what we call four directions in any inquiry: inward and outward, backward and forward. By inward, we

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mean toward the internal conditions, such as feelings, hopes and aesthetic reactions, and moral dispositions. By outward, we mean toward the existential conditions, that is, the environment. By backward and forward, we refer to temporality—past, present, and future. (Clandinin and Connelly, 2000, p. 50)

Foregrounding I have a personal interest in exploring marital disruption within the Black community. My husband and I divorced in 2017. His expressed reasoning was based on a disinterest in marriage and the responsibilities assumed with such a union. Several of my Black male and female friends have repeated similar sentiments when experiencing the termination of their marriages. In the same vein, I can count on one hand the marriages that have remained intact among the couples I know from my generation (Generation X) with whom I am personally familiar.

I attended an all-girl high school and pledged a sorority in college, so I have many female peers. Out of that large group of successful, career-oriented, driven women, very few have married. It is very disheartening to witness the dissolution of some of these marriages and to hear my unmarried and recently divorced friends reference their loss of hope in finding a loving and fulfilling long-term commitment. Many mention that eligible, educated, professional Black men are fewer in number than eligible, educated, professional Black women. On the other side of the coin, I also hear my male associates echo similar sentiments about the lack of eligible, like-minded professional Black women. I find myself confused because while I hear many Black men and women admit

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to wanting to be married, I do not see any movement or effort toward committing to and or sustaining their marital unions.

When approaching this study design, I recognized that I was seeing this experience exclusively through the lens of a divorced Black woman. Further, that lens had been biased by my experience of the termination of my marriage as well as others’ personal, often painful, experiences. As a result, I recognized that my view would influence my perception of the study participants and, in turn, how they perceived me.

Specifically, as a Black woman speaking to Black men about the termination of their marriages to Black women, I imagined there may be stereotypes and biases that would influence and potentially skew how their personal narratives would be provided, received and ultimately processed. All of these considerations were clearly and continuously addressed during the study. Specifically, the three-dimensional narrative inquiry chosen to guide the study’s methodology strongly encouraged open and continuous reflection of these inflections and actively invited me to address and incorporate how these biases influenced the research process.

Summary Using a narrative research design, this study explores the experience and impacts of divorce through the eyes of Black men. The study utilized a three-dimensional narrative inquiry space to capture the participants’ experiences within time, social, and place constructs. This study provides information about the psychological attitudes of Black men regarding marriage and divorce and discusses the implications on clinical social work.

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Chapter II

Literature Review Marriage is considered a social and/or legal custom that predates recorded history and is recognized in most cultures (Coontz, 2006). The institution of marriage is defined as “the state of being united to a person as husband or wife in a consensual and contractual relationship recognized by law” (Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary, 2016). Although the underpinnings of marriage have changed dramatically throughout history, marriage has continually been influenced by the culture and/or society in which it takes place. For example, family alliances are encouraged through extended-family unions in the Middle East, while polygamy remains accepted in certain cultures in Africa as well as other parts of the world. Accordingly, the guidelines for intimacy and love in a marriage have also been dictated by cultural influences. According to family historian and professor Stephanie Coontz (2006), “in many cultures love has been seen as a desirable outcome of marriage but not a reason to get married in the first place” (p. 14).

Marriage was largely introduced into the United States as a source of controlling wealth and power, specifically the authority of the White male. According to Willis (1999), “in white society, marriage served the vital function of determining property distribution; by stripping women of their property and codifying female dependence, marriage effectively solidified white male dominance” (p. 101). Marriage trends have

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fluctuated for decades; however, marriage rates have declined substantially for all races since the 1940s and 1950s (Cherlin, 2009; Elliott et al., 2012; Fitch & Ruggles, 2000).

Furthermore, current research shows that Black men and women are less likely to marry (Elliott et al., 2012).

Although not recognized legally, slave marriages and the intimate connections observed between Black slaves in early America were documented and have been reviewed by many scholars, with some drawing connections between the acts of violence committed during slavery and the destructive constructs that have continued to negatively affect Black families in America. The marriage rates and trends of Blacks in America since slavery have also been examined. Research indicates a decline in marriage within the Black community.

The following will briefly chronicle the atrocities that greatly influenced the gender roles and status of enslaved Black men and women. It will highlight the continuing changes of gender roles, status, as well as the discrepancies in male-female relationships, family dynamics, and marital status within the Black community during the post antebellum period. Lastly, there will be an examination of the trends noted in the literature as well as possible reasons that scholars and theorists have identified for the existing changes in marriage rates for Black Americans.

Historical Overview of Black Marriage Black female and male gender roles during slavery.

Many aspects of slavery dramatically influenced gender roles and greatly affected the relational dynamics between female and male slaves. According to Hallam (2004),

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“the paternalistic language of slavery, the restrictions of slave law, and the circumstances of slave life created a sense of parity (equality) between Black wives and husbands” (p.

2). Ultimately, the structural framework of slavery would usurp the traditional roles once followed in Africa by stressing the dominance of White slave owners.

Family was the primary focus of African culture. Once enslaved, men and women were not only ripped from their traditional family roles but from their customary working duties as well. In America, slaves of both genders were often placed in similar work positions. For example, in some African cultures, field-oriented labor was seen as women’s responsibility while men focused on hunting and on protecting their respective tribe. However, once enslaved in America, slaves of both genders were often placed in similar or equally shared work positions (Willis, 1999).

Marriage between Black slaves was considered pointless in mainstream society at that time (Gutman, 1976; Hallam, 2004; Tucker-Kernan, 1995; Willis, 1999). According to Willis (1999), “whites considered legal slave marriages unnecessary” (p. 101). Some slave owners simply forbade slaves from marrying and did not qualify slaves as worthy of the principles associated with anything outside of property, certainly not White marriage in the United States (Hallam, 2004). Despite these burdens, some scholars point to the evidence of nuptials within slave communities: Nevertheless, many slave couples lived together as husband and wife after undertaking wedding celebrations as simple as jumping over a broomstick or as elaborate as scripture weddings or even grand banquets thrown for the entire community. (Franke, 1999, p. 252)

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The very violent and exploitative basis of slavery was not conducive to healthy relationships among Black female and male slaves: “The Black family under slavery differed profoundly from that of European Americans structurally and in ways in which family members functioned as contributors, administrators, and recipients of family resources” (Tucker-Kernan, 1995, p. 27). Married slaves were often subjected to watching their spouses be abused with no ability to assist or protect their loved ones in any way. This was identified as a source of resentment, shame, and strain between Black female and male slaves (Hallam, 2004; Tucker-Kernan, 1995; Willis, 1999). Importantly, after slavery was abolished, Black couples continued to encounter relational and gender role difficulties in free society and in their intimate relationships (Franke, 1999; Hooks, 2004; Jones, 1982; Tucker-Kernan, 1995).

Regardless of a slave’s marital status, slave owners were expedient and thorough in their control over slave families and their offspring. Colonial slave masters established rights to define and control kinship groups.

An act passed in 1662 that mandated that the children of a Black female, regardless of the color or condition of the father, had to take the status of the mother had a profound effect on slave families for two centuries. It not only placed a brand of perpetual servitude on the next several generations of Virginia blacks, but also provided the legal context for matrifocal kinship groups among succeeding generations of slaves.

(Tucker & Kernan, 1995, p. 38) With this type of mandate, a father’s role was substantially diminished in numerous capacities. These destructive practices affected the Black family. Their effects,

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particularly on the relational dynamics between Black men and women, continued in some manner well after slavery.

The brutality of slavery in America ripped apart and destroyed the individual lives and families of slaves. Slaves were battered and dehumanized through brutal treatment and inadequate resources. Slave owners capitalized on abusive and vicious control of slaves. Slaves had to vow loyalty to their slave owners before their families and their own lives. This abysmal conduct ruptured the development of and overall quality of life for millions of slaves. Further, the effects of slavery continued to influence roles and relational connectedness well after slavery’s abolishment. The effects of the trauma experienced during that time not only disrupted how American Blacks treated one another in the postbellum period and beyond but also greatly affected the healthy development of self-esteem and sense of agency.

Black marriage after slavery.

After slavery, the institution of marriage was considered an important and influential component in the process of assimilating slaves into the mainstream culture: After the Civil War, Black people in the United States celebrated the right to alienate their labor, own property, and participate in the institutions of civil and public society that were considered fundamental to a good and free life. The right to marry figured prominently among the bundle of rights Black Americans held dear in the postbellum years. (Franke, 1999, p. 252) According to a 1930 study conducted by Fisk University and the Works Project Administration that encompassed reviewing thousands of narratives taken from ex-slaves,

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researchers surmised that many of the experiences of two-parent consolidated (married)1 families were described as resilient and loyal. In fact, many of these households remained intact after slavery was abolished (Crawford, 1992). However, these efforts were relentlessly undermined by systemic oppression and exploitation by White mainstream society (Hooks, 2004; Jones, 1982).

As Black men continued to completely assume patriarchal responsibility, the lack of financial stability was often accentuated: In denying slaves the right to own property, make a living for themselves, participate in public life, or protect their children, the institution of bondage deprived Black men of access to the patriarchy in the larger economic and political sense. (Jones, 1982, p. 253) Researchers have continued to note the connection(s) between marriage and financial hardship: “It is the chronic effects of low income that present the most difficulties for African American families� (Wilson et al., 1995, p. 86).

Slavery ended in the Northern states by 1830 but continued in the South until 1865 (Williams, 2018). A review of the literature on Black marriage after slavery indicates that marriage was an idealized Western status that free Blacks pursued. This was likely an attempt to assimilate or, at the very least, survive in the larger oppressive culture. After slavery was abolished, Black Americans continued to be abused and disenfranchised. Without political representation and with racism on all levels of American society, marriage offered an attempt to be accepted.

1 Crawford (1992) used marriage to illustrate the terms used by ex-slaves to explain their intimate relationships.

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Black marriage trends.

Vitally, marriage rates in the Black community continued to rise after slavery. In fact, between 1940 and 1960, most Black American families were marriage based (Bryant et al., 2010). Furthermore, the number of Black American marriages peaked during that period (Bryant et al., 2010; Dixon, 2009). However, considerable changes in marriage trends have been noted since 1960.

Research funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation indicates that “after World War II, Blacks did not see a marriage boom primarily because they did not economically advance as significantly as whites during that time period� (Fitch & Ruggles, 2000, p. 26). Furthermore, Fitch and Ruggles (2000) mentioned an astonishing increase in the average age Blacks were entering into their first marriage. According to Elliott and colleagues (2012), census records show that Black women were more likely to have been married by age 35 than their White peers until 1970. Drastic changes were noted after that time, with reduced marriage rates among Black women (Elliott et al., 2012).

Census data indicate that Black men entered into marriage unions earlier than White men until 1960.

In 1890, the median age at first marriage for Black men was 25.2 years, while it was 26.6 years for white men. In 1950, the median age at first marriage for Black men was still lower at 22.8 years compared to 24.0 years for white men. By 1960, the trend changed, and Black men began entering into first marriages at later ages than white men.

This trend has continued to the present, such that by 2010, the median age at first

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marriage for Black men was 30.7 years, compared with 27.8 years for white men. (Elliott et al., p. 13).

Current research indicates that the decline in marriage rates among Blacks has been faster than for other racial groups in America (Cherlin, 2009). Additionally, a number of research studies have found that Blacks are less likely to marry than Whites (Carlson et al., 2004; Harknett & McLanahan, 2004; Western & McLanahan, 2000).

Today, not only have fewer Black Americans married but also fewer Blacks are married compared to other racial or ethnic groups (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2009).

Marriage seemed to provide a form of validation and support for Blacks as they continued to traverse the abhorrent conditions of institutional racism and segregation well into the 1960s. It could be assumed that Black Americans sought comfort in each other and were able to make some gains when embracing marriage. Further, spirituality for Black Americans has been fundamental in most communities. Churches and spiritual institutions have served as central hubs for Blacks in America and provided support and a framework for social and emotional connectedness. Church and community leaders encouraged marriage and strongly dissuaded divorce. Nevertheless, marital prospects declined and marriage trends began to change as a result of continued political, legal, and economic disadvantages and social inequities. Coupled with the changing Western societal norms that made divorce and cohabitation before marriage less taboo, marriage rates began to decline in Black communities across the United States. Furthermore, the economic fluctuations along with the entry of women into the workforce made marriage a less attractive and necessary vehicle with which to pursue success. As single parenthood, crime, and drugs began to increase in America, Black communities again appeared to

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take the brunt of these changes, with trends indicating that chances to marry were declining while divorce was on the rise.

Literature Review of Historical Perspectives on Black Marriage Traditional historians and scholars have surmised that many of the relational dynamics within slave communities were chaotic. Jameson (1967), Frazier (1966), and Patterson (1998) believed slavery was the initial factor that sabotaged Black American marriages. In the literature, most scholars have separated the factors contributing to marriage and divorce status and trends within the Black community. The three major categories of delineation are structural, cultural and individual factors.

Structural factors.

The structural factors that scholars and researchers believe directly influence marriage trends in the Black community include racism and other oppressive structures within mainstream society, emotional and socioeconomic inequalities, and disproportionate sex ratios between Black men and women. According to Veroff, Douvan, and Hatchett (1995), “couples interpret their marital experiences in the context of their social worlds, their . . . kin, [and] their economic situations—all within a backdrop of institutional racism” (p. xiii). The structural aspects of racism are important in understanding racism’s impact on marital outcomes, as evidenced by research involving the examination of marriage in the U.S. Army, an institutional context in which the effects of structural racism have been minimized relative to the broader national culture.

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Underscoring the potential importance of structural racism as a factor in marriage, Black Americans in the Army marry at a higher rate than Black Americans who are not in the military (Lundquist, 2004) and do not show evidence of higher rates of marital dissolution (Lundquist, 2006), even after controlling for a range of potential risk factors.

(Fincham & Beach, 2010, p. 637) Incarceration is another structural factor when considering marriage and divorce trends with some segments of the Black population. Punitive policies toward drug control, resulting in harsh sentences, have led to the United States having the highest incarceration rates of any Western country (Western & Petit, 2010; Western & Wildeman, 2009). Furthermore, “Black men are eight times more likely to be incarcerated than Whites across all age groups and education levels” (Western & Wildeman, 2009, p. 228).

The absence of young Black men in the general population, as a consequence of incarceration, might be evident in the varying marriage patterns by race over the last century. To add an interesting annotation, “there was a Black marriage boom in 2000 particularly among non-working and institutional inmates. Reasons for this boom remain unclear and continue to be debated” (Ruggles & Fitch, p. 75).

Theorists and researchers have also focused on what has been termed a “marriage squeeze,” as an influence on the decline in marriage rates and increase in marital dissolution within the Black community. The traditional marriage squeeze hypothesis surmises that the ratio of women to men is detrimentally disproportionate, which influences when Black men and women enter marriage and the viability of those unions.

Variables considered to be part of the marriage squeeze include the increasing number of unmarriageable Black men, increasing homicide and incarceration rates, and life

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expectancy differences—especially seen among Black seniors because Black women live longer: “At some age, women begin to outnumber men in the population. The sex-ratio imbalance occurs several years earlier in life from black women than among white women” (Bennett et al., p. 7).

One of the prime explanations for the decrease in marriage rates and increase in divorce within the Black community is tied to the continuing lack of economic prospects for Black men (Elliott, et al., 2012; Franke, 1999; Hooks, 2004; Tucker-Kernan, 1995): “Research suggests that economic factors have a robust and direct influence on couple interactions and marital outcomes in the Black community (Bryant et al., 2010).

According to Tucker-Kernan (1995), “Presently, almost two-thirds of inner-city Black males are either in school or idle between ages nineteen and twenty-two. They depend fully, or in part, on government assistance, family help, or illicit activities for support” (p.

92). With more than 40% of Black men between the ages of 16 and 62 out of the workforce and more than 30% in low-level employment, the lifestyle of most young Black men is not conducive to and does not places them in a position to effectively support and manage a marriage and/or family (Dickson, 1993; Lawson & Thompson, 1995).

Several research studies have noted the inverse correlation between financial stability and risk for divorce (Billings, 1998; Lawson & Thompson, 1995; South & Lloyd, 1992). Marriage rates among Black males and females declined following increased levels of unemployment among Black men, and increasing male unemployment was linked to marital dissolution among Black American couples (Bryant et al., 2010).

Further, because research indicates that the working poor and those least advantaged are

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more susceptible to family and marital dissolution, one may imagine that unemployed Black men and women could be at an increased risk of divorce (Lawson & Thompson, 1995; Raley & Bumpass, 2003).

Census data also indicate that marriages between Black men and women have been more likely to end in divorce than marriages of Whites (McLoyd, Cauce, Takeuchi, & Wilson, 2000). Another structural reason may involve the lack of accessibility or availability of resources (e.g., counseling, recreational facilities) that might foster successful, healthy marriages.

The promotion of family life involves fostering the resources of family through the implementation of prevention and intervention programs. Unfortunately, many programs aimed at reducing the problems and obstacles of family life fall short of measurable success when confronting family problems in the African American community (Wilson et al., pp. 85–86).

Such structural constraints limit valuable day-to-day family and marital activities.

This can potentially affect the healthy marital functioning of each spouse, thereby contributing to marital distress (Bryant & Wickrama, 2005). Having limited resources with which to resolve conflicts and solve problems can intensify this distress.

Cultural factors.

Several cultural factors have been attributed to the shifting trends of marriage and divorce in the Black community, including changing cultural trends such as a marital union not being a prerequisite for sex, family creation, and cohabitation. The promotion of individualism and materialism and the reduction of stigma attached with divorce are

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also believed to have directly influenced marriage trends in the Black community (Cherlin, 1992; Furstenberg, 1994; White, 1991).

Gender role conflicts and nontraditional family-formation influences are linked to the changing trends in marriage and divorce within the Black population in America.

Further, sociocultural beliefs are seen as strong influences on responses to socioeconomic and relational expectations (Lawson & Thompson, 1995). Studies have found that Black men believe that high expectations and differing views on financial stability contribute to marital distress and divorce (Braithwaite, 1981; Dickson, 1993; Lawson & Thompson, 1995). Further, extended familial ties and kinship are often present to relieve significant social disenfranchisement and are more prevalent within the Black population in America versus with White Americans, but they may simultaneously be a source of tremendous strain within the marriage dynamic (Billingsley, 1992; Lawson & Thompson, 1995; McAdoo, 1981; Staples, 1985).

Some researchers point to the increasing number of Black men choosing to marry interracially as a growing cultural factor influencing marriage and divorce trends in some Black communities: “Young Black men are out-marrying at very high rates (much higher than among women), allowing marriage formation to increase for Black men and to continue to decline for Black women� (Fitch & Ruggles, p. 66). Moreover, educated Black men are more likely to enter into interracial marriages. Furthermore, Black men are marrying non-Black women at least twice as often as Black women are marrying nonBlack men (Fitch & Ruggles, 2000; Franke, 1999).

According to the literature, additional cultural factors that may exacerbate the conflict between Black men and Black women include a lack of marriage education and

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socialization, individual development, and role expectations (Hurt et al., 2014). For example, a review of various ethnographic studies on inner-city Black American culture referred to vast differences among young Black men and women in the acceptance and perceived desirability of marriage, with young Black women being more interested in a stable, economically secure marriage and family than young Black men (Anderson, 1990; South, 1993).

Individual factors.

The individual factors that influence marriage rates in the Black community . . . stem from an internalization of cultural values that affects people’s perceptions of marriage and their expectations of potential mates, their willingness to commit to a relationship that can lead to marriage, and, once they marry, their willingness to sustain the marriage through the challenges it will face.

(Dixon, 2009, p. 29) Increasing expectations for personal satisfaction along with changing attitudes about marriage and intimacy have also influenced marriage and divorce rates (Amato, 2000). Further, chronic social hostility from the broader society, from immediate and community environments, fragmented family systems, poor access to vital services, and a shortage of opportunities for education and socioeconomic advancement, can impact an individual’s sense of efficacy as well as how individuals relationally connect with others.

In a study designed to assess how Black men made sense of divorce, Lawson and Thompson (1995) surmised that “the paradox of adopting survival strategies to maintain self-worth and dignity and their effects on marital stability was often at the center of

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marital distress and contributed to divorce” (p. 216). As revealed in the research, Black men may be reluctant to commit to a permanent relationship, in the form of legal marriage, because they do not feel that they can properly provide for a family and do not expect an increase in satisfaction in their sex lives and personal friendships after getting married (Lawson & Thompson, 1995). Some may even feel unworthy of marriage or deem it to be unnecessary or “uncool,” based on the judgments and disapproval from their Black peers. Internalized racism within the Black community may also affect marital relationships and contribute to divorce. For example, in a sample of 93 Black American couples, the investigators found that a husband’s anti-Black American attitude predicted poorer couple functioning (Hurt et al., 2014).

As can be seen, research regarding the changing trends in Black marriage in America has been generally demarcated into structural, cultural, and individual factors.

Structural factors such as continued racial inequities like Jim Crow laws, segregation, and legal injustice dramatically affect the lives of Blacks in America. Due to very limited education and job opportunities, Black Americans have found themselves more susceptible to violence, poverty, limited community services, and the increased drug trade. As a result, larger numbers of Black males have been incarcerated or killed due to living in impoverished and crime-infested communities. This has greatly reduced the pool of marriage prospects, which has affected marriage trends. Further, social changes—to include women being in the workforce—have changed the landscape and purpose of marriage. Evolving cultural norms such as an increased acceptance of divorce, the lessened influence of organized religion, changes in family creation and cohabitation, and

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the preference of individual goals and aspirations over more traditional family-oriented perspectives have further contributed to the shift in marriage trends.

Lastly, the aforementioned factors of racism and injustice have directly affected the well-being and progress of Blacks in America. In particular, long-lasting abuse and discrimination, negative projections placed on them from mainstream society, and a lack of positive role models in many local communities have greatly impacted the psychological development of Black American boys and men. Ravaged environments, continuing social degradation, and injustice have also affected the function of family systems and have limited the healthy relational experiences necessary for development.

These impingements have impacted attachment and the healthy encounters that allow for the development of confidence, regulation, and goal setting. My conviction is that these factors have altered the expectations of self and others and have influenced the viability of marriage and increasing rates of marital dissolution.

Psychodynamic Theoretical Framework This research used a self-psychological lens to consider the psychosocial and emotional effects of divorce on a sample of Black men in a segment of the population in Atlanta, Georgia. This theoretical framework stresses the continuation of development and the changing dynamics of human needs into adulthood. Self psychology “may provide an opportunity for understanding mature modes of interdependence within the family in ways that are more consonant with adult experiences than other psychodynamic formulations� (Cohler, 1983, p. 35). The following will briefly summarize the general

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aspects of self psychology and look into intimate selfobject needs during marriage. The overview will conclude with a specific focus on selfobject needs during conflict.

Brief Overview of Self Psychology Considered to be the founding theorist of self psychology, Heinz Kohut created a general framework for the healthy development of the self. His theoretical model was developed as a result of his work with patients diagnosed with narcissistic personality disorder. Specifically, these patients struggled with labile self-esteem and had a high reactivity to setbacks and rebuffs (Kohut & Wolf, 1978).

Heinz Kohut’s ideas about the therapeutic use of empathy were introduced in 1957 and published in 1959. While treating personality disordered patients, Kohut (1959) observed the establishment of narcissistic transferences, thought to be activated by narcissistic needs in treatment. He delineated these transferences into two categories. The first, mirror transferences, involved a return of the childhood need to be accepted and reaffirmed. The second, idealizing transference, resulted from the need to fuse with an idealized source of power and security (Kohut & Wolf, 1978).

In self psychology, the self is seen as the foundation of one’s character. It is the very essence and nucleus of one’s being: “The self, the core of our personality, has various constituents which we acquire in the interplay with those persons in our earliest childhood environment who we experience as selfobjects” (Kohut & Wolf, 1978, p. 414).

Gathering data from clinical work, Kohut and Wolf (1978) determined that the self was ultimately organized upon two poles. The first denoted mirroring selfobjects that stimulate, uphold, and cultivate confidence, initiative and structure. The other pole

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signifies idealizing experiences that offer power and attachment to a strong and faultless imago (Galatzer-Levy & Cohler, 1993; Kohut, 1971; Kohut & Wolf, 1978).

Selfobjects are external objects that carry out vital functions for psychological development and in time are internalized as part of the self (Kohut & Wolf, 1978): “In self psychology the concept of selfobject has been useful in delineating the ways in which others provide psychological functions necessary for a person to maintain a sense of selfcohesion” (Palombo, 2001, p. 31). According to Kohut (1977), the availability of proficient selfobjects is essential for one to have healthy selfobject experiences that allow for the development of cohesion, confidence, and initiative, and “The very emergence and maintenance of the self as a psychological structure depends on the continuing presence of an evoking-sustaining-responding matrix of selfobject experiences” (Goldberg, 1978, p. 28). Kohut and Wolf (1978) determined that failure or a loss of selfcohesive qualities made available through functional, organizing aspects of one’s selfobjects resulted in deficiencies or fragmentation of the self.

As mentioned, Kohut surmised that the development of a cohesive and healthy self depends on the interactive qualities of an individual’s selfobjects. For example, “It is in the nature of selfobject experiences that so long as empathic connectedness exists through which requisite functions are performed, the child experiences a sense of wholeness and intactness” (Palombo, 2001, p. 31). Kohut’s framework stresses three critical selfobject functions he believed were necessary for a cohesive self to develop: mirroring, idealizing, and twinship.

In self psychology, idealizing serves as a way for one to be connected to a powerful, stronger selfobject. In doing so, the need to fuse with a selfobject with

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idealized qualities (e.g., goodness, skill, and leadership) is satisfied (Galatzer-Levy & Cohler, 1993; Palombo, 2001). Mirroring provides the opportunity to feel appreciated, wanted, and worthwhile. Twinship experiences create a sense of belonging with (e.g., one’s spouse, family, or community). Ultimately, Kohut “came to believe that the consolidation and maintenance of a positive sense of self was the central development task for us all” (Fosshage, 1995, p. 240).

Intimacy and Selfobject Needs Marriage is considered to be a crucial developmental step in adulthood. It is celebrated as an expected milestone in many cultures. It is viewed as a life transition to be followed by parenthood. Marriage highlights the vital experience of oneness with another (Galatzer-Levy & Cohler, 1993).

Although the age of first marriage has continued to rise, most people want to marry at some point during adulthood. According to a Pew Research study conducted in 2010, most people who have never married want to eventually marry within their lifetime: “Especially for those who have never wed, marriage remains a life goal. About six in ten (61%) men and women who have never married say they would like to get married” (Cohen, 2013). Further, in The Marriage-Go-Round, Cherlin (2009) illuminates the difference in marriage in the United States versus in other nations, particularly those in Europe. He contends that marriage serves as an idealized status or representation of achievement in America.

According to Galatzer-Levy and Cohler (1993), “no relationship demonstrates the idea of essential others as closely as marriage” (p. 249). The manner in which intimate

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needs are met in marriage is similar to the synergetic relationship between mother and child. Within the covenant of marriage, each spouse is responsible for caring for the other’s needs: “Marriage is among the most intimate of the relationships that people sustain. Only the relationship of mother and infant combines psychological understanding with bodily closeness to a similar extent” (Galatzer-Levy & Cohler, 1993, p. 253).

As courtship continues into marriage, partners become interdependent: “Partners increasingly exchange confidences and try to shape each other’s views. . . . How well the partner can be idealized and so make up for self-doubts is often important” (GalatzerLevy & Cohler, p. 256). When considering the relational dynamics of dating, courtship, and marriage, it is reasonable to assume that each partner serves as a responsive selfobject during such times, allowing for selfobject experiences that foster cohesion and agency. Some research indicates that partners actually seek others to fulfill selfobject needs and deem that there is a linear progression of that process.

A common sequence in the relationship of future mates is an initial sense of rapport followed by increased self-revelation, leading to greater intimacy and interdependence, and, ultimately, to a feeling of fulfilling one’s needs through the relationship. The process builds on itself, with rapport, self-disclosure, and interdependence each supporting the other. (Resiss, 1960, as cited in Galatzer-Levy & Cohler, 1993, p. 255) Intimate relationships include many components that make the other experience a sense of acceptance, idealization, and affection (Galatzer-Levy & Cohler, 1993; Mitchell, 1988).

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Divorce and Selfobject Needs Over a lifespan, individuals are susceptible to the loss or insufficiency of selfobject experiences. According to Kohut and Wolf (1978), as the self develops during childhood, faulty interactions from primary caregivers can be internalized as adverse selfobject experiences: “The resulting traumatic selfobject experiences lead to a diffusely damaged self or to a self that is seriously damaged in one or the other of its constituents” (p. 65).

Although less taboo than in the past, divorce remains somewhat stigmatized in certain facets of society. The progression of divorce has decelerated; however, overall rates have risen in the past years: “Over the past few decades there has been a widespread trend towards higher levels of divorce” (Bennett, 2017, p. 374). Socially, there continues to be a general increase in the acceptance of terminating one’s marriage.

The decision to end a marriage and the subsequent steps to legally divorce are considered to be psychologically stressful and anxiety-provoking events, as elucidated in research completed by Holmes and Rahe in 1967. Holmes and Rahe developed the Holmes-Rahe Scale to research the effects of stress on humans. This instrument rates the effects of stress events on research participants (Holmes & Rahe, 1967). According to the results of their research, the resulting stress of divorce is second only to that after the death of a spouse (Gadoua, 2012).

“Conflict is inherent with relatedness” (Miller, 1988, p. 160). Intimacy and close contact inherently are connected with disappointment as partners learn the human qualities of their spouse, often lessening the idealized attributes they once believed to exist: “Disappointments emerge as an idealized picture of the partner succumbs to the

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realities of married life� (Gatalzer-Levy & Cohler, 1993, p. 258). The incredible role transformations and responsibilities, including parenting, along with the inclusion of extended family and new social habits can be daunting, overwhelming, and difficult to accept.

If one experiences less selfobject responsiveness from his or her partner, the quality of their relationship can be impacted. It is not uncommon for disappointments, impingements, and chronic unresponsiveness to diminish selfobject experiences. Thus, it is feasible to assume that weakened selfobject experiences can be a contributing factor to and a consequence of marital dissolution. These breakdowns, as a result of less selfobject responsiveness, may be intensified by a predisposition for fragmentation and/or give rise to disorders of the self as a person continues to develop in adulthood. Moreover, there appears to be an increased vulnerability to faulty selfobject experiences during developmental periods of the life course such as parenthood, marriage, and divorce (Kohut, 1977; Kohut & Wolf, 1978).

Attachment and Intimacy Although this study primarily utilized self psychology theory to frame the research, some aspects of attachment theory were considered. Bowlby (1977) defined attachment as an affectional tie with “some other differentiated and preferred individual who is usually conceived as stronger and/or wiser� (p. 203). Bowlby was influenced by Lorenz and Harlow (1958), who focused on affectionate ties and connectedness among animals outside of the sphere of primary needs such as food. Bowlby determined that human attachment, unlike animal attachment, takes longer and includes attachment

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behaviors that encourage and facilitate relational connectedness with particular others, such as with caregivers. Specifically, attachment behavior in infants may include crying and crawling.

Mary Ainsworth advanced Bowlby’s work on attachment, particularly by identifying the secure base phenomenon. According to Ainsworth (1982), once normal attachment is obtained with a caregiver, the infant feels more comfortable exploring his or her environment in proximity of his or her secure base or caregiver. During her study, coined the Strange Situation, Ainsworth observed infants’ interactions while with their primary caretaker, during a period of separation from their caretaker, and after being reunited with their caretaker following the separation. She determined that infants with varying degrees of attachment reacted differently during these observations and identified four attachment styles.

Ainsworth (1982) observed that an infant who was securely attached to his or her caregiver was able to maintain stability during exploration within close proximity of that caregiver (or secure base), was appropriately distressed during the separation period, and engaged in contact-seeking and contact-maintaining behaviors after being reunited.

Insecure attachment was delineated into three categories. Ainsworth (1982) determined that infants exhibiting independent behavior and relatively minimal stress during separation and perhaps verbal and/or nonverbal avoidance after being reunited possessed avoidant attachment with their caretaker. Infants who exhibited a lack of exploration and separation anxiety before being separated from their caregiver, followed by high arousal and distress during the separation period and ending in a combination of behaviors including contact-seeking, avoidance, and irritability were identified as having

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ambivalent attachment. Finally, Ainsworth (1982) surmised that infants who display disorientation and a range of attachment styles may have disorganized attachment (Zeynep, 1994).

The role of internal working models is a fundamental component of attachment theory: “Internal working models of attachment figures are dynamic, complex representations of early relationships operating at different levels of the individual’s memory system” (Zeynep, 1994, p. 409). These representations are established during real relationships and can serve as frameworks for future relational connectedness with others.

Attachment styles developed in early development are thought to impact an individual’s ability to establish attachments with others later in life. However, while Bowlby determined that a secure person operated from a locus of self-reliance and likely developed as a result of having a trustworthy, supportive, and attuned familial network, “secure internal working models with respect to early attachments may not determine the nature of relationships in adult life, including issues of parenting” (Zeynep, 1994, p 410).

It is logical to assume that intimacy and relational connectedness are influenced by one’s attachment to others: “The desire to be attached to others appears to be a significant aspect of child and adult emotional development, especially during illness or distress” (Zeynep, 1994, p. 408). It is reasonable to presuppose that those entering a marriage with anxious or ambivalent attachment issues may in turn encounter problems in relationships with others: “Intimate relationships, because of their temporal quality, are never static but always entail an active tension and conflict between openness to the other and self-definition, between responsiveness to the other’s claims and a need for

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boundaries” (Miller, 1988, p. 160). The organic and sometimes chaotic flow of human interaction resulting in this inevitable psychic tension may be anxiety provoking, disruptive, and particularly emphasized in a person with attachment impingements as a result of skewed expectations or thwarted attempts in previous relationships, leading to further difficulties with relational connectedness.

Marriage is wrought with ups and downs: “Intimacy is not a primrose path, but a process which includes risks, choices, and anxieties. Intimacy necessarily entails accommodation” (Miller, 1988, p. 160). Marital dissolution may be impacted by many internal and external dynamics. As aforementioned, internal dynamics may involve attachment styles and diminished selfobject experiences. While many schools of thought exist about the factors that influence a marriage’s success, it is worth noting that many researchers surmise that the commitment of each partner to the marriage is the strongest predictor of marital success or failure and that divorce occurs when the commitment to continue a marriage is no longer present (Galatzer-Levy & Cohler, 1993; Ryder, Kafka, & Olson, 1971).

Summary Clearly, the hardships and cruelties of slavery created inequalities and division in male–female relationships among Blacks slaves. Although marriage rates increased for Blacks following slavery, persistent social ills and significant psychological determinants continued to influence and eventually undermined healthy relationships and gender roles in the Black community. Today, marriage rates continue to decline for Black Americans as a result of these substantial issues.

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The enormity of research highlighting the influence and continuing effects of slavery and other social and psychological factors on gender roles and marital status in the Black community does not allow for an accurate summary of the phenomenon within this document’s page limitations. However, the goal of this review was to provide an outline of the trends noted in the current literature regarding the startling changes in marriage and divorce trends in the Black community. Additionally, this chapter presents causes associated with these changes and the continuing decline in marriages for Black Americans detailed by researchers and scholars. Although studies have been conducted regarding Black marriage, they are largely from the perspective of women.

Research indicates marriage has substantial benefits for Black children, families, and communities, yet the divorce rate is higher for Black couples than other ethnic groups in America today. With divorce rates so high in Black America, it is important to understand the impact of such a life transition. A gap exists in the information regarding intimate relationships and divorce in the Black community, particularly considering the occurrence through a psychodynamic framework with divorced Black men. In this research, I explored how a sample of Black American men experienced the dissolution of their marriages, and I provided a complex understanding of the impact divorce has on their lives. This study gives a voice to a population that has been marginalized in many ways when discussing and addressing marital dissolution in the Black community.

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Chapter III

Methods Reintroduction of Major Approach and Research Questions This qualitative study was designed to explore the following research question: How do Black men in the Atlanta, Georgia, metropolitan area born between 1970 and 1980 experience the termination of their marriages, and what impact does divorce have on their lives? The study elucidated the lives and experiences of Black men who have gone through divorce. This narrative qualitative research employed a transactional narrative methodology called the three-dimensional narrative inquiry space. Espoused by researchers D. Jean Clandinin and F. Michael Connelly, this three-dimensional space is a way of considering experience “backward and forward, inward and outward with attentiveness to place� (Clandinin, 2013, p. 39). Using experience as the constant in narrative inquiry along the constructs of time, sociality, and place, this design focuses on the past, present, and future elements that lend to the uniqueness of an individual’s narrative. The design details ethical concerns and frames the methodology from the research question to field notes, interim text, and the final narrative.

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Rationale for Qualitative Research Design, Including a Restatement of Epistemology According to Creswell (2014), a worldview paradigm or epistemology is “a general philosophical orientation about the world and the nature of research that a researcher brings to a study” (p. 6). These paradigms represent basic beliefs and assumptions about knowledge and serve as philosophical foundations for research designs. Bloomberg and Volpe (2012) identified social constructivism as one of the “four core paradigms that shape qualitative research and identify how worldviews shape the conceptualization, practice, and nature of research” (p. 28). Constructivism embraces the worldview that reality is an interplay between an object and its environment, and it recognizes that participants make sense of their surroundings and relationships through a unique lens and subjective understanding of their experiences. It is a philosophical worldview seen in qualitative research that frames what an inquirer believes and how knowledge will be acquired during the research process (Creswell, 2014).

With qualitative research, researchers view the world in the contexts of cultural, historical, and social perspectives. Qualitative inquirers look deeply into their study participants’ experiences to exhaust data while identifying themes and collective experiences. Marshall and Rossman (1999) claimed, “in qualitative inquiry, initial curiosities for research come from real life observation” (p. 25). This form of study focuses on the why, what, and how of experiences, people, and phenomena to offer a complex account of the subject(s) under study.

According to Creswell (2014), basic tenets mark qualitative research. Qualitativeresearch data tends to be collected in a natural setting and from multiple sources. Data

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analysis is inductive and deductive and positions the researcher as a significant factor: “Qualitative researchers use an emerging approach to inquire the collection of data in a natural setting that is sensitive to people and places” (Creswell, 2007, p. 55). An important characteristic of qualitative research is reflexivity, which refers to an inquirer’s influence on the research study. “In qualitative research, the inquirer reflects about how their role in the study and their personal background, culture, and experiences hold potential for shaping their interpretations, such as themes they advance and the meaning they ascribe to the data” (Creswell, 2014, p. 186). Therefore, as a researcher, it was important that I acknowledged my subjectivity and remained aware of how personal experiences, beliefs, and cultural traditions influenced my narrative analysis.

Creswell (2014) said research designs provide specific direction for procedures in qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-method studies. Narrative research involves the collection and interpretation of the stories participants share regarding a specific experience or phenomenon. “Narrative inquiry, the study of experience as story, then, is first and foremost a way of thinking about experience” (Clandinin & Connolly, 2006, p.

375). Using a narrative research approach, in this study, I explored Black American men’s life stories about marriage and divorce to understand their experiences of marital disruption.

A narrative qualitative research design best fit this study proposal because of its focus on human experience. “The procedures for implementing this research consist of . . . gathering data through the collection of their stories, reporting individual experiences, and chronologically ordering the meaning of those experiences” (Creswell,

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2007, p. 54). In this study, I specifically explored the life stories of Black men in the Atlanta, Georgia, metropolitan area.

By looking intimately into the participants’ personal stories, I gained a better understanding of how Black men experienced marriage and divorce and gave a voice to a population that is underrepresented in clinical research. The aim of this study was to improve the understanding of situational, societal, and individual effects of marital disruption on Black men. I also remained open to and aware of new, fresh information and perspectives. By understanding the impact of divorce on Black men, clinicians may better help Black clients achieve their treatment and life goals.

Rationale for Specific Methodology As a methodology, narrative research focuses on individuals’ lives through the telling of stories. “People shape their daily lives by stories of who they and others are, and as they interpret their past in terms of these stories” (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000, p.

375). Clandinin and Connelly (2000) argued that narrative research is a form of study researchers use to understand experience through lived stories. Furthermore, narrative research encompasses a collaborative effort of the researcher and participant along the constructs of temporality, sociality, and place.

“Narrative inquiry is a way of understanding participants over time in a place or series of places, and in social interaction with milieus” (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000, p.

20). It is the result of the colliding matrixes of lived experience from all constructs and aspects that come into play during the process of the study. It involves sharing stories and learning from shared stories.

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According to Clandinin and Connelly (2000), “narrative research does not follow a lock-step approach, but instead represents an important collection of topics.” Research may be collected using various instrumentation, including journaling, field notes, and the assembly of field notes (letters, interviews, personal photographs, thick descriptions, etc.). As cited in Creswell (2007), Clandinin and Connelly referred to the stories as “full text” (p. 131). Narrative study is effective because of the innate understanding of storytelling across cultures, nations, and time: “Narrative communication is natural and it invites a closer look” (Moore, 1988, p. 249).

Clandinin and Connelly (2000) referred to their narrative research design as the three-dimensional narrative inquiry space, which takes into consideration experience along the continuum of temporality, sociality, and place. Dewey’s (1981c) theory of experience is the foundation for the three-dimensional narrative inquiry space: “In an experience, things and events belonging to the world, physical, and social are transformed through the human context they enter, while the live creature is changed and developed through its intercourse with things previously external to it” (p. 251). Dewey’s theory of experience is relational and encompasses the phenomenon of human interaction. Clandinin and Connelly expanded on Dewey’s theory of experience, stating, “experience is neither mental nor physical. Neither cognitive nor cultural. Neither time nor space but a senseless blend of all constructs” (p. 39).

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Utilizing the three-dimensional narrative inquiry space to frame the qualitative research design, in this study, I analyzed the human experience through interpretation, insight, and relational connectedness. Application of this research design encouraged the comprehensive analysis of lived experiences, inclusive of time, context, and personal and social interaction. Clandinin and Connelly (1990, 2000) embraced a set of terms in which narrative inquirers use the three-dimensional space as a way to frame and understand narrative inquiry. Clandinin and Connelly (2000) categorized narrative inquiry into three dimensions (or commonplaces): temporality, sociality, and place. Clandinin and Connelly (2000) surmised these constructs “specify dimensions of narrative inquiry spaces and mark out the landscape of narrative inquiry” (Clandinin & Rosiek, 2007, p. 69). The three-dimensional narrative space inquiry frames the qualitative methodology through the lens of situation, continuity and interaction: Thus, when one is positioned . . . one asks questions, collects field notes, derives interpretations, and writes research text that addresses both personal and social issues by looking inward and outward, and address temporal issues by looking not only to the event but to its past and future. (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000, p. 50) The three-dimensional narrative inquiry space takes in consideration how people are living their stories, the time in which these stories are lived, the time at which the stories are told, and the place and context in which these stories are lived and told (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000).

The first commonplace that frames their concept of narrative inquiry is temporality: “Events, people, and objects under study are in temporal transition and narrative inquirers describe them with a past, present, and future” (Clandinin and Rosiek,

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2007, p. 69). In other words, narratives are considered on a continuum. According to Clandinin and Rosiek “every experience both takes up something from present moment and carries it into future experiences” (p. 69).

Clandinin and Connelly (2000) classified the second dimension in the threedimensional narrative inquiry space as sociality. Sociality encompasses personal (i.e., intrapsychic) and social (i.e., relational) conditions. Specifically, they stated that “the second commonplace, sociality, points toward the simultaneous concern with both personal and social conditions” (Clandinin & Rosiek, 2007, p. 69). In narrative inquiry, it is imperative to consider the personal and social aspects of the person being explored.

These aspects also include the relational dynamic that occurs between the research participant and the narrative inquirer. Clandinin and Connelly (2000) claimed that “another important dimension of the sociality commonplace is the relationship between participant and inquirer. Narrative inquirers are always in an inquiry relationship with participants’ lives” (Clandinin & Rosiek, 2007, p. 69).

The third commonplace Clandinin and Connelly (2000) identified is place. This component takes into consideration the importance of context and “draws attention to the centrality of place, that is, to the specific concrete, physical, and topological boundaries of place where the inquiry and events take place” (Clandinin & Rosiek, 2007, p. 70).

Clandinin and Connelly also noted that place attends to the construct of context and/or situation, meaning that stories occur in a specific place. This context, in which stories are lived, told, and retold, is integral to narrative inquiry: “For narrative inquirers, the specificity of location is important. The qualities of place and the impact of places on lived and told experiences are crucial” (Clandinin & Rosiek, 2007, p. 70). When one

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considers place in the three-dimensional narrative inquiry space, it is equally important to understand the shifting nature of place and context within the timeline of narrative inquiry. According to Clandinin and Connelly, “as an inquiry proceeds temporally, place may also change and narrative inquirers need to stay awake to how place shifts the unfolding stories of lives” (p. 70).

The three-dimensional narrative inquiry space Clandinin and Connelly (2000) espoused best meets the rudiments of this research proposal, as it can explain the context and impact of divorce on a sample of Black men. Clandinin and Connelly (2000) found that temporal, social, and contextual properties frame narrative research. Furthermore, the inquirer’s and participants’ contributions and engagement during the research process are anticipated and organized into the final research narrative.

From the researcher’s perspective, lives are storied experiences; therefore, one can learn from the telling and retelling of these stories. Clandinin and Connelly (1990, 2000) believed that social change is often experienced. Supporting this idea, Clandinin and Rosiek (2007) stated, “Human experience is birthed inspired and changed through ‘socially lead storied lives’” (p. 37). In other words, we are capable of learning from others’ experiences, especially those with platforms (intended or not) who have been influential in shaping other’s decisions and lives. Therefore, this knowledge can also be applied in a wider context, such as the field of social work.

As an inquirer, it was important that I understood how past events and personal interests were interweaved into the framework of the narrative study. This understanding is referred to as reflexivity and is particularly noteworthy because of this researcher’s

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experience. It was important to remain aware of how my personal understanding of marital dissolution affected the research. Consultation and self-reflective journaling were used to manage and organize feelings and experiences during the research process.

Research Sample The research sample was chosen using purposeful sampling or selection: “The idea behind qualitative research is to purposefully select participants or sites (or documents or visual material) that will best help the researcher understand the problem and the research question� (Creswell, 2014, p. 189). With purposeful sampling, participants who could provide valuable and relevant data that addressed the research problem were selected for this study.

The study sample was structured using John Creswell’s (2007) guidelines for narrative inquiry: In a narrative study, one needs to find one or more individuals to study, individuals who are accessible, willing to provide information, and distinctive for their accomplishments and ordinances or shed light on a specific phenomenon or

issue being explored. (p. 119)

Specifically, one group of five participants consisted of heterosexual Black men between the ages of 37 and 47. Participants resided exclusively in the Atlanta, Georgia, metropolitan area. Selected participants had been married and divorced to Black women in the state of Georgia. The length of the marital union and parenthood were not eligibility requirements, but they were pondered during participant interviews.

Participants were divorced at least one year prior to the onset of this research. The year

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requirement was meant to reduce the level of emotion related to divorce, which is more pressing in the initial months following the dissolution. Study participants had not legally remarried after experiencing divorce. The study was limited to those who had not remarried to capitalize on the impact of the particular experience of divorce without the complications that legally entering into another marriage may generate.

All participants discussed their experiences of marriage and divorce and were willing to disclose personal information and experiences but never to the point of discomfort. Participants participated in an initial screening phone call and two in-depth face-to-face or virtual-conference interviews. Both interviews lasted 60–90 min. It was anticipated that two interviews would provide ample time to retrieve rich data.

Furthermore, participants were required to maintain correspondence via one or more means of communication (email, phone, Skype, etc.) during the research study’s entirety.

Open correspondence assisted with member checking and follow-up after the formal interviews. Additionally, the study did not require the participants to be employed, and participants from all socioeconomic backgrounds were accepted.

The following will provide clarification about why this age group was selected for the research sample. First, the primary researcher belongs to this generation and has a sense of understanding and security with this age cohort. Second, it was presumed that choosing this age bracket would increase the chances of finding participants who met the study’s marriage and divorce eligibility criteria. Last, during personal and professional group discussions, the primary researcher noted that members of Generation X most commonly voiced a concern about marital commitment and expectations resulting from social norms that had greatly changed from childhood to adulthood.

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Research Design After I received approval from the Institutional Review Board, the following steps were taken to conduct this study: 1.

Participants were selected through referral by professionals known to the researcher and through recruitment.

2.

Recruitment was primarily conducted through word of mouth and flyers sent to local male clubs, community organizations, professional associations, and places of employment.

3.

Flyers and advertisements (online and physical) included the researcher’s and the faculty chairperson’s contact information. The purpose of the research was outlined. Research participant eligibility criteria were also listed. Interested individuals responded via email.

The researcher’s contact information was listed on the flyer. (For a sample flyer, please refer to Appendix A.)

4.

Once interested individuals contacted the researcher, participation criteria were verified to ensure eligibility, and an introductory telephone call was scheduled for eligible participants only.

5.

The initial call enabled the participants and I to gather contact information and discuss confidentiality, review study criteria, and schedule the first face-to-face interview. The

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inquirer fielded any questions the participant posed at that time, as well. (For the introductory screening-call script, please refer to Appendix B.) 6.

Upon completion of the introductory call and confirmation of the initial face-to-face interview, an email was sent within 48 business hours that included an opening letter that restated the purpose of the study and included consented forms that outlined precautions to minimize risk and ensure confidentiality. (For the welcome email, please refer to Appendix C. For the consent forms, please see Appendices D and F.) Participants were expected to review the documentation prior to the first scheduled interview.

7.

Hard copies of these forms were reviewed during the first face-to-face interview with the participant. The participant’s understanding of consent and participation was verified, and the consent forms were signed at that time. (For the consent forms and script to assess the participant’s understanding, please refer to Appendices D, F, and G.)

8.

The interviews took place in an office in Midtown Atlanta, Georgia. The building and parking garage were maintained by a private security company and were accessible in case of an emergency. This area of Atlanta, Georgia, was central and convenient to many downtown and suburban neighborhoods. An office setting was ideal because it increased safety and provided a clean, neutral environment for the research inquirer and participants.

9.

Parking was available in a parking garage located in the building.

10. Each participant received one 90-min parking voucher after each interview.

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11. The 30 extra min allowed for pedestrians walking to and from the office and parking garage.

12. The protocol for the initial face-to-face interview included a standard introductory script.

(For the interview guide, please refer to Appendix E).

13. The respondents participated in two 60–90-min interviews, for a total of 120 to 180 min of interview time per participant.

14. Interviews consisted of open-ended questions that evoked stories.

15. Participants contributed during both interviews.

16. If a person chose to end his participation prematurely, his termination would have been documented in the research notes. Alternative participants would have then been identified as outlined in the research design. None of the participants selected for the study terminated his participation prematurely.

17. The first interview was face-to-face. This initial interaction was conducted in person to better establish therapeutic rapport and to complete the consent forms.

18. Attempts were made to schedule each participant’s second interview at the end of the first interview.

19. Interviews were scheduled two to four weeks apart.

20. If a participant could not confirm a second interview at the end of the first meeting, the primary researcher sent a follow-up email to schedule a second interview within three days of the first meeting.

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21. If the client failed to respond or could not schedule a second interview at that time, a third appointment request was sent via email three days after the second attempt.

22. No participant failed to respond or was unable to schedule a second interview after the third attempt; therefore, no participant lost his eligibility for the study.

23. If applicable, participant termination would have been noted, and alternative participants would have been identified as stated in the research design.

24. The second interview was conducted in person or via an audio–video conferencing call.

Audio–video conference calls occurred on the Google Hangout platform.

25. Participants were expected to maintain their scheduled interviews or contact the researcher when unable to in order to confirm a new interview date/time.

26. If participation had ended prematurely, termination of the study participant would have been documented in the research notes, and an alternative participant would have been identified as outlined in the research design. However, no participant ended his involvement in the study prematurely.

27. Interviews were audio–video taped and transcribed.

28. The video tape was reviewed to further examine body language and other nonverbal forms of communication that may have gone unnoticed during the actual interview. A private, secure transcription service completed all transcription.

29. The audiovisual conference calls were recorded using a handheld recording device.

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30. Research participants were given an opportunity to read through a summary of their transcripts and were encouraged to add more detail or clarification to any aspect of their narratives. This process served as member checking.

31. Participants received a $50 Amazon gift certificate upon completion of both 60-min interviews.

32. During the interview process, the researcher journaled personal reflections, observations, and notations. Journal entries included but were not limited to personal and professional thoughts, insight, interests, and concerns before and after interactions with participants.

33. I maintained a regular consulting schedule with the dissertation chair.

Data Collection The goal of data collection was to obtain rich material that addressed the research question: How do Black men in the Atlanta, Georgia, metropolitan area born between 1970 and 1980 experience the termination of their marriages, and what impact does divorce have on their lives? According to Creswell (2000), qualitative observation occurs in the research setting “when the researcher takes field notes on the behavior and activities of individuals at the research site� (p. 190). For this study, observation was recorded via field notes, observational journaling, and audio–visual technology.

The primary researcher spent time as an active observer and participant in the research process and conducted face to face, semistructured, open-ended interviews that were audio- and videotaped. The audio recordings were transcribed. If applicable, the

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researcher will also conduct semistructured, open-ended interviews via telephone or video conferencing, which will be taped and transcribed.

When the second interview could not be scheduled as a face-to-face meeting, the interview was conducted online. For one participant, the researcher conducted a semistructured, open-ended interview via a video conference, which was taped and transcribed. According to Creswell (2014), qualitative audio and visual material may include but is not limited to “photographs, art objects, videotapes, website main pages, emails, text messages, social media text, or any forms of sound” (p. 190). Virtual interviews were offered for the second interview primarily for participants’ convenience.

Based on a request from the participant, the virtual interview was conducted on the Google Hangout platform.

At the beginning of the virtual interview, I assessed the participant’s level of comfort with the virtual meeting space. The participant expressed comfort with the virtual interview process. As a result, the interview continued, beginning with a review of the safeguards used to ensure confidentiality.

It was preferred that both 60-min interviews be were conducted in person, and all efforts were made to do so. A second interview via an online video chat was a last option and was only pursued for convenience and to reduce the risk of losing the study participant. The primary researcher believed that rich data was retrieved through this format.

In terms of data collection within the three-dimensional narrative inquiry space, all field notes and observations were framed within the dimensions of time and sociality, with attention to place. Clandinin and Connelly (2000) suggested that these dimensions

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should be reflected in field text and reflections with inclusion of the place, date, and social context when the researcher completes all notes.

Framed within the three-dimensional space, when collecting data such as field notes, Clandinin and Connelly (2000) paid special attention to temporality. It is imperative to consider the story within historical, present, and future contexts: “Field texts are like this. Narrative inquirers need to be sensitive to the temporal shifts that take place in all sorts of ways at any point in time” (Clandinin & Connolly, 2000, p. 91).

Therefore, when I observed and collected data for this study, special consideration was given to the shifts in time, as they were related to the narratives provided. Place and aspects of sociality were considered within the continuum of temporality as well. These considerations were reflected in an observational journal that was dated, with each page divided in the middle. Factual demographic information and observations were listed on one side and reflections from the researcher on the other.

The interview questions were posed in a way that gained information while taking context into consideration. The place or context in which the narrative occurred was vital, as it greatly impacted all aspects of the research data. According to Clandinin and Connelly (2000), “there is no way of making sense of people, places, and things, (interpreting and understanding their narrative) without taking into account the context in which they are located” (p. 32). Deliberate consideration was given to the larger Atlanta metropolitan area as well as the specific place or places in which each participant’s narrative occurred. This was done in two ways. A description of the context or place in which the narratives were given and the place where the events actually occurred was reflected in the demographic information entered into the observational journal and later

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summarized in the results section of this study. Second, a historical summary of Atlanta and the Black community in this metropolis was provided.

Another aspect considered in data collection was the dimension of sociality.

According to Clandinin and Connelly (1990, 2000), sociality can be understood by looking at a participant’s personal or psychological aspects along with their relational dynamics with others. By doing so, the researcher gains a better understanding of the participant’s reality in relation to self and others. It is equally important to appreciate the ever-changing state of people and their relatedness with others. Clandinin and Connelly (2000) explained, “when considering people, it is imperative to consider the life experiences and histories and movement of “what was, to what is, to what will be” (p. 30) and the impact on the larger narrative of the participant. In terms of data collection, it was seen in interview questions that were specific to relational dynamics with others at various developmental milestones or ages. Questions also arose regarding the participant’s sense of self.

Plan for Data Analysis Data analysis in narrative research requires the inquirer to work within the complex shifts of time, sociality, and place. Because these shifts are continuous, sorting through the collected data can seem daunting. According to Clandinin and Connelly (2000), “the inquirer needs to be aware of the details of place, of the nuanced warps in time, and the complex shifts between personal and social observations and their relations” (p. 91). It is imperative to note that narrative inquiry and analysis are not linear and may be situated and go back and forth through various steps throughout the research

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process. However, to attempt uniform data analysis, the following data analysis guidelines were followed.

1. Organizing data: This organization included gathering and categorizing all collected information, including field notes, audiovisual recordings, journals, and audio recordings (Creswell, 2014).

2. Transcription: This process included the transcription and organization of all collected data. A private, secure transcription company completed all transcription (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000; Creswell, 2014).

3. Reviewing and rereading: This process involved the reading and rereading of field texts, observational and reflective journal entries, and other collected data.

It included reviewing field texts to construct timelines, identify emerging themes, and organize a summary of participant narratives (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000; Creswell, 2014).

4. Coding: This process involved coding all collected data and notating dates and contexts in which the data was collected: The (a) names of the characters that appear in field texts, (b) places where actions and events occurred, (c) story lines that interweave and interconnect, (d) gaps or silences that become apparent, (e) tensions that emerge, and (f) continuities and discontinuities that appear are all possible codes (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000, p. 131). The MAXQDA coding system was used to ensure the coding was done accurately and in a timely manner. In this process, the participant narratives were compared to others, and tensions, boundaries, and themes were identified.

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5. Developing emerging themes: This process involved identifying common themes, deciphering meaning, and exploring each narrative’s significant aspects. During this process, it was important to “look for patterns, narrative threads, tensions, and themes either within or across” participants’ narratives (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000, p. 132).

6. Creating interim text: During this step, text was formatted to illustrate each participant’s themes and significant and detailed accounts. Consideration was given to temporality, personal and social interaction, and the contexts in which the narratives occurred. Researcher reflections and interpretations were also included. This process was shared and processed with the participants (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000).

7. Final research text: Following the reading and rereading of the interim text, the narratives and reflections were organized into and presented as a final draft.

The Results section of this study is written in narrative form. Narratives have been derived from the valuable data collected from participants, coded, and grouped into themes. Narratives have been framed within the three-dimensional narrative inquiry space with attention to time, sociality, and place. The results from this research show how participants experience the termination of their marriages and describe how the experience of divorce has affected them.

Ethical Considerations

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It is important to recognize that interviews can be intrusive and that some data collected may be filtered through an inaccurate lens. Field notes and interim texts were shared with participants to ensure the accuracy of their narratives and to address any questions or confusion. Furthermore, not everyone feels comfortable in an interview setting. Discussing relationships, unsettling memories, marriage, and divorce can provoke residual pain for some participants. Although every attempt was made to create a safe environment, participants were given the choice to refuse to answer questions if they felt uncomfortable. To minimize risks, interviews were stopped if participants began to experience distress. Referrals for clinical services were offered if trauma or residual discomfort occurred during or following the research inquiry. (For the debriefing form, please refer to Appendix H).

Ensuring confidentiality was another ethical consideration. Safeguards were maintained throughout this study to minimize risk and ensure confidentiality. The research was conducted with several precautions.

1.

The participants were assigned pseudonyms to ensure that no identifying information was placed on research forms or the final text.

2.

The list of pseudonyms connected to any identifying information was securely stored in my office in a double-locked cabinet. The list will be completely destroyed at the conclusion of the study.

3.

The data were collected electronically and securely stored in a passwordprotected database. Only the researcher has access to the data and the password.

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4.

Data results will be retained for 5 years after completion of the study.

5.

All identifiable text, software, tapes, and journals will be destroyed at the conclusion of the study.

6.

Paper products will be shredded.

7.

Computer software will be erased and removed from storage devices or platforms.

8.

The researcher will physically destroy USB drives, video tapes, and audio/video recordings.

9.

All safeguards and precautions have been listed on the consent form and reviewed thoroughly with each participant.

10.

The consent form indicated that participants would be asked about their experiences with family, marriage, and divorce.

11.

It was explained that the participants were free to refuse to answer questions or stop the interview if feeling distressed and resume when comfortable and/or terminate the interview at any time.

12.

If the participant experienced an emergency during the course of the interviews, the proper steps were taken to get assistance. No participant emergencies were recorded.

13.

If a participant experienced residual distress following the research study, the researcher made recommendations for short-term counseling support upon request. (For the debriefing form, please refer to Appendix H.)

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Reliability, Validity, and Trustworthiness Many strategies were utilized to ensure data credibility, transferability, and reliability, including the collection and comparison of data quality, clarification of collected data with participants, and an intense or prolonged interaction with the participants being studied. Clandinin and Connelly (2000) stressed the importance of recognizing that “like other qualitative methods, narrative relies on criteria other than validity, reliability, and generalizability” (p. 184). Instead, strong narrative research should be authentic, credible, engaging, and descriptive. Clandinin and Connelly (2000) pointed out that they “wrote about a good narrative as having an explanatory, invitational quality, as having authenticity, as having adequacy and plausibility” (p. 185).

Limitations and Delimitations The sample used in this study was limited and therefore may not accurately represent the larger population of divorced Black men. The results of this study represented the research participants’ opinions from 2018 to 2019, when the data was collected. Topics such as poverty, fatherhood, employment issues, racial encounters, and general child and adult family makeup were considered when I interpreted the outcome data. Additionally, recognizing my own biases and preconceived notions, I consulted with the supervising faculty and used reflective journaling to address, monitor, and control for these matters.

The Researcher’s Role and Background

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I am a licensed clinical social worker in the Atlanta, Georgia, metropolitan area. I have been licensed for 17 years and have primarily worked with children, young adults, and families. I have worked in various settings, including inpatient treatment centers, community programs, detention centers, and a private clinic.

The researcher’s background is very influential, especially in qualitative research, because most studies stem from personal or social phenomena. In my case, it was essential to constantly be aware of and document any biases I may experience while interviewing. Gender and bias are variables that must be controlled, reflected on, and/or understood.

I chose to utilize qualitative research for many reasons. First, I am very interested in the stories of people’s lives, especially as they go through certain experiences and the common themes that everyone battles regardless of race, creed, ethnicity, or color.

Second, while recognizing most researchers’ proclivity for quantitative study in the field of science, I accepted that I was not as passionate about that form of research. Last, by following my passion, I found interest in entering the participants’ actual lives and environments. I like to get real-life stories in their natural settings.

Summary This chapter reviewed the methodology used for this study. This research study utilized a qualitative narrative research design to explore the experience of divorce for a segment of black men in the Atlanta metropolitan area. A narrative design was chosen because it provided a way of understanding participants in various locations and social interactions. Using the three-dimensional narrative inquiry espoused by D. Jean

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Clandinin and F. Michael Connelly, their experiences have been framed along the constructs of time, sociality, and place.

The study sample and research design have been defined along with the plans for data collection and analysis. Ethical considerations and the protocol to minimize risks and ensure confidentiality have been outlined. Strategies used to ensure authenticity, credibility and trustworthiness were described. Finally, limitations and delimitations were identified followed by the role of the researcher.

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Chapter IV

Results In this study, I explored the experience of divorce among a segment of Black men in America. The purpose of this qualitative study was to analyze the narratives of a specific sample of Black men born between 1970 and 1980 to understand the context and the impact of marital dissolution in their lives. This study employed a narrative methodology to consider the psychological and sociological effects of divorce on the research participants.

This study utilized the three-dimensional narrative inquiry space espoused by theorists D. Jean Clandinin and F. Michael Connelly. This inquiry space captures the experiences of participants within time, social, and place constructs. The threedimensional narrative inquiry space has served as the framework for ethical concerns, data collection, analysis, and the completion of the final narrative.

Research shows that marriage trends in Black communities in America have seen a continuous decline for the last four decades (Elliott et al., 2012; Cherlin, 2009; U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2009; Carlson et al., 2004; Harknett & McLanahan, 2004; Western & McLanahan, 2000). Furthermore, divorce continues to be more frequent among Blacks than any other ethnic group in America. The decline in marriage rates has negative effects on Black children, adults, and families (Malone-Colon, 2007). This research was conducted to explore the effects of marital dissolution in the lives of Black men who have notably been underrepresented in academic research. This study provides information

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about the psychological attitudes of Black men regarding marriage and divorce and presents the implications on the field of clinical social work.

Introduction of Participants Study participants were selected from the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia.

Participants were legally wed and divorced in the state of Georgia in accordance with state law. The sample included five participants ranging in age from 39 to 49 years. One of the participants is outside the original age criteria of 37–47 years; however, he is within the timeframe of Generation X, so he remained eligible for the study. All participants participated in two 60–75-min interviews. All but one of the interviews were conducted in person in an office setting in midtown Atlanta, Georgia. One of the interviews was conducted via an online platform.

In the following section, you will meet the participants of this qualitative study.

Background summaries are presented for each participant. The researcher will describe and summarize the men and provide excerpts from their narratives.

Participants Paul.

Paul is a 49-year-old Black man originally from St. Louis, Missouri. He relocated to Atlanta, Georgia, as a young adult after leaving college during his junior year to pursue

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a career in law enforcement. He is a retired police officer and currently resides alone. He is the father of two young adult children and has been divorced for 12 years. Paul presented as guarded and professional during his interviews. He appeared more relaxed during the second interview and was quite humorous. He seemed reflective and admitted to pondering some of his responses after his first interview. He was dressed in casual shirts and khaki pants for both interviews. He wore black glasses. The interviews took place in midtown Atlanta, Georgia, and Paul arrived on time and remarked that he was assigned to a satellite office not far from the location of the interview. He appeared to enjoy the meeting location and seemed somewhat nostalgic for a brief period during the initial interview.

Paul is from a two-parent family. Although his parents remain married, he described their marriage as toxic: More so comfort was really prevailing over their happiness. But seeing that at the end of the day . . . it could’ve been more of a point of they valued family. They wanted to make sure that . . . that institutional family stayed together, with mother and father, so that was very important at the time, as well, for them. To sacrifice themselves for the cause of the family as opposed to cousins and other close relatives (Paul, personal communication, March 2, 2019).

He believed that it was normal for family life to be plagued with disagreements.

Although he described his family life as loving and nurturing, he made a note of verbal and physical aggression between his parents as he grew up.

Paul discussed his dating experience prior to getting married. Because he was a successful college athlete and joined the police academy after relocating to Atlanta, he

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considered his dating life “easy.” Because of the number of women willing to date him, he found that he did not hold monogamous relationships in high regard because of his serial dating.

I think at the end of the day you don’t have the thought to understand the value or the . . . important aspects of a relationship even though you may say you’re in a relationship, but that’s very loosely stated. But not really knowing the dynamics and the value in what makes it a true relationship. So even though you say you’re in a relationship you didn’t really value that much because you had ten relationships (Paul, personal communication, March 2, 2019).

Paul maintained this bachelor style of dating as he entered his career in law enforcement in Atlanta.

Paul met his wife after being injured in an accident while on duty as a uniformed police officer: “I was on duty. I got injured in a traffic accident and went to the hospital, and she was working in the hospital, and that’s how we met” (personal communication, March 2, 2019). He said that he enjoyed dating his partner and that minimal problems arose prior to their marriage. He expressed some difficulty with extended-family relationships and attributed the problems to control: I think it was a controlling aspect. They wanted to try to kind of have some input and as it relates to the household. The ironic part of it that I got that from the females in her family. But her father and I got along real well, and he didn’t infringe on the household, which they were trying to do, so that’s where it was

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one reason why it was very tumultuous with that (Paul, personal communication, March 2, 2019).

Paul was married for 12 years and fathered two girls during this union. He said the formal separation period lasted approximately six months. Paul initiated the divorce proceedings and attributed the primary demise of the marriage to infidelity and financial deception.

Doug.

Doug is a 45-year-old Black man from Atlanta, Georgia. He works at a local company. During the first interview, he was dressed in casual clothing. He had a red and white flannel shirt with dark jeans and red high-top tennis shoes. He wore a red baseball cap. During the second interview, he wore another red baseball cap with a red and cream checkered dress shirt. Doug also had on dark jeans and red tennis shoes. At the time of the interviews, he was residing with his fiancé. Doug became emotional during the first interview and maintained contact with me between interviews. He expressed gratitude about being a part of the study because it enabled him to express emotions and discuss experiences that he had previously suppressed.

Doug discussed his experiences with relationships as a young child. According to him, he did not have strong role models and did not recall many nurturing experiences during his formative years: “I mean, because I look at it like you didn’t see love. You don’t—I mean, my family was the type of family, they didn’t tell you that they love you.

You know what I’m saying?” (personal communication, December 19, 2018). Although

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Doug did not see love, he considered his grandfather a role model in his life. Doug referenced him as an ideal man.

Doug was raised in a very fractured family system. He described his relationship with his mother as strained. He also spoke in depth about his father and their broken relationship. Doug illuminated how his father resided nearby his entire life but never acknowledged him as his son: Sometimes you go through life and you deal with so much stuff from your past that you want to look. Like I said, my mom and them was never the type of person that loved. I never had my dad in my life. (Doug, personal communication, December 19, 2018).

Before they were able to address their relationship, Doug’s father died unexpectedly.

Doug was legally married for a little over 9 years before finalizing his divorce. He entered the union with a son but did not have children with his wife. His wife entered the union with a daughter. He described his marriage and blended-family life as tumultuous.

Doug first felt loved by someone outside of his biological family and referenced his marriage as his first serious relationship. “Like I said . . . I growed [sic] up not knowing what the strong sense of love was” (Doug, personal communication, January 9, 2019).

Doug hoped that marriage would give him the opportunity to give and receive love in a fashion that was unavailable when he was younger. His plan for marriage centered on the idea of attachment and attunement, as he wanted to “let her [his wife] know that I love her, and maybe I can get it in return” (Doug, personal communication, December 19, 2018).

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Doug faced gaps in employment, poverty, and incarceration as a young adult.

These problems continued into adulthood and caused marital distress. These factors also impacted his mental and physical health. Doug mentioned that he often took the blame for problems in his marriage. Ultimately, he believes that infidelity and financial stressors primarily led to his marital union’s demise.

Ferris.

Ferris is a 44-year-old Black man who is originally from the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. He is a college graduate and currently lives in the Atlanta area with his son. He is a real estate agent. Ferris has three children (two daughters and one son).

He was a few minutes late to the first interview after encountering traffic and navigational issues on the way to the office. He was dressed in business casual attire, which consisted of black slacks, a black shirt, and a gray vest. He had a bald head and a long, thick salt-and-pepper beard. He wore black glasses. He was cordial and eager to begin. He appeared excited about the chance to convey his feelings about relationships and his experience of divorce.

During the second interview, he appeared online. After repeated attempts to schedule an in-office appointment and several delays, an online interview was confirmed.

He appeared in an office surrounded by office equipment. He was at a desk, wearing casual business attire.

Although his mother was his primary caretaker, he spent most of his time with his paternal grandmother. Ferris described her as “the head and father of the family� (Ferris, personal communication, December 18, 2018). His father was incarcerated, but he

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formed a relationship with another man his mother married. Although he also was incarcerated following their marriage, upon his release, he remained with Ferris, his siblings, and his mother as the family head for three years before he died in a motorcycle accident. According to Ferris, “during that duration, it was a good look” (personal communication, December 19, 2018).

Ferris discussed the importance of spirituality early in the interview process. He described growing up in the Baptist denomination and attending church regularly. Not until his early 20s did Ferris begin to apply some of the principles that he learned during his formative years. When he entered his 20s, Ferris mentioned that he “took in different aspects of the Bible . . . feeling that it gave him direction and a framework for being a man. Monogamy was a big component of that” (personal communication, December 19, 2018).

Ferris met his future partner in a nightclub. Although he admitted that the meeting place may have been an indicator of how the relationship would pan out, he also expressed his wish to provide support for and help his future partner: So for me, I tend to be one of those people that just can take a person that really don’t have too much going on, and I can see potential in them, and then I help them out. I don’t want to say it like that, but that’s exactly what it is. You put the energy, you put the focus and the drive into them so they can execute what they wanna [sic] do in life, but sometimes, it comes back to burn you down the road (Ferris, personal communication, December 19, 2018).

According to Ferris, having a child with his partner before marriage greatly influenced his decision to legally wed:

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It was a kind of spontaneous thing. We just kept going through ups and down, but we couldn’t leave each other alone type of situation, and we just had a child, and I was just like, I’m not having any more kids out of wedlock, so we need to go ahead, and . . . it wasn’t more just on my child, focused on that but it was . . . quit playing games and start building (Ferris, personal communication, December 19, 2018).

Ferris also discussed mental-health problems that influenced their relational connectedness: “Although I had my depression times and all that stuff, she had suicidal thoughts” (personal communication, December 19, 2018). Ferris also described an interaction with his wife involving domestic violence and suicidal ideation.

Ferris entered his marriage with a son and had another child with his partner prior to legally marrying. He was married for five years. During the marriage, physical separations and financial stressors were some of the greatest impingements on the relationship.

Joseph.

Joseph is a 39-year-old Black man who lives alone in the Atlanta area. He is selfemployed and the father of five children, four of whom live with his ex-partner. He has joint custody of them. He has a high school diploma and attended some college. He arrived at the first meeting 15 minutes late. Before his first interview, he appeared a bit nervous but cordial. He became gregarious and confident during the interview. He was playful, flirtatious, and even slightly condescending at times. He was dressed in dark pants and a beige checkered shirt. He wore glasses, and his hair was cut short.

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Joseph arrived several minutes before his scheduled second interview. He was in a jovial mood and presented with a wide smile. He wore a T-shirt and pants; a colorful, casual jacket; and glasses. He seemed eager to begin the interview and exchanged small talk before the formal questioning began. During the interview, I encountered technical difficulties. With little hesitation, Joseph took over the recording of the video by pulling out his phone and responding to my inquiries directly into the camera on his phone. I offered to use my phone, which he began to speak into while continuing to record the video on his phone, as well. He seemed to enjoy filming the remaining interview time (about 30 min) on his and my phones. He sang at awkward times during the interview, always under the guise of levity.

Joseph is originally from Arkansas. His family later moved to New York before settling in the Atlanta metropolitan area. He was raised in a single-parent home and has two other siblings, who share the same parents. Joseph also has at least two paternal halfsiblings. He vividly described his representation of family and marriage as a child: We lived upstairs with my grandmother and grandfather. My grandparents were married. They had been married probably 40-some years. My aunt and uncle were married. My other aunt and uncle were married, and then I had another uncle. All four of my grandmother’s children were either married at one point with the exception of my uncle. Then my aunt got divorced, and then my uncle was a single whatever. I don’t know how that worked (Joseph, personal communication, February 8, 2019).

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As Joseph described his family system as a growing child, he referenced his older brother, who was only four years older and in high school, as his primary caretaker. He illuminated how his family system changed with the addition of more siblings: Then my mom was the only single mom. Then we moved out, and she raised us until I graduated from high school, but she got remarried. Then it went from three to five to six. She had three children; then [I had] two more brothers. I don’t know where they came from. They just happened to magically appear, and then I was the one taking care of them. A couple of years later, we had another little brother.

She would always go see men and have relationships but never a steady thing (Joseph, personal communication, February 8, 2019).

Joseph spoke in depth about his grandparents. They served as his initial representation of marriage. He described seeing defined roles in his grandparents’ relationship: Watching my grandmother and my grandfather, particularly their relationship, I saw them married. My grandfather was retired. My grandmother was retired when I was a teen. My grandmother would make everybody’s food, and then he would get the biggest pancake. He would get his dinner first, and he would have the biggest piece of chicken and stuff like that. I saw that as a positive (Joseph, personal communication, February 8, 2019).

He referenced other relational dynamics that he observed in his family: I didn’t really see them communicate, which is ironic to my marriage. I’m sure you want to know about that. He was not very vocal. But my mom, she was a single mom. I didn’t know anything about her relationships. My uncle was a

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Jehovah’s Witness. Nothing wrong with JWs, but they’re a little stronger in their beliefs and their dogma. I saw their relationship, but it was more like he was the man and that the buck stops with him (Joseph, personal communication, February 8, 2019).

Joseph later clarified his opinion of male and female roles and described how his viewpoint impacted his marriage and influences his current relationships with women.

This point will be expanded on further in the findings and discussion sections.

Joseph expressed a great deal of anger toward his father until he gained knowledge about bitterness and became determined to release his hate for his father.

I hated my dad for all my life until I was maybe 36. No, that’s not true. I hated him until I was about 18, and then I went to a church service. It was not really supposed to be a healing service, but that’s what it turned out to be. A guy by the name of John Bevere, he wrote a book called The Bait of Satan, and the bait of Satan is bitterness. I didn’t realize how bitter I was towards my father, and then during that service, I forgave [him] for all of the things that I did not know and things that I did know (Joseph, personal communication, February 8, 2019).

Joseph met his future wife while attending college in Atlanta, Georgia. He described his initial interest in her in detail and explained that her physical and spiritual attributes piqued his interest. He also felt an impulsive spontaneity: I was leaving from my residence because I stayed in a boarding house, and I was working. I told my buddy, whose name is Joe—I can say Joe because no last name—Joe is a very generic name. I told my buddy, Joe, I said, “The next woman I see that’s breathtaking, I’m going to marry her.” Here comes Judy [future

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partner’s pseudonym] around the corner from the educational facility that we went to. It was a cold morning. She was wearing that Trinity Matrix long leather coat, and it flowed just like the wind was just carouseling [sic] her towards me (Joseph, personal communication, February 8, 2019).

Joseph was married for 15 years. He decided to move ahead with legal marriage after he and his partner found out she was pregnant. Joseph expressed regret over the pregnancy, referencing his religious and moral beliefs: I felt like I fucked up because I got her pregnant—well, when we got pregnant. I don’t want to say I got her pregnant because she was there, too. I used to take all of the blame. I don’t take all the blame anymore. I felt like, “Damn, here it is again. I am repeating the cycle.” I felt like I was a failure because I was working when my last kid was born, and then I got fired before he was born. That just really devastated me, so now I’m just like, “Here we go again. No telling what’s going to happen with this one.” I felt like, “All right, well, either we’re going to do it or not (Joseph, personal communication, February 8, 2019).

Joseph attributed his marriage’s demise to issues such as infidelity and poor financial management. He elaborated on their relationship’s argumentative nature and expressed a particular disdain for the emasculating manner in which she spoke to him. He noted that she would provoke him in a manner that concerned him, as he thought he would lose control of his emotions and resort to violence. Ultimately, Joseph decided to end the marriage because of their relationship’s deteriorating nature.

Sonny.

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Sonny is a 39-year-old Black man from Atlanta, Georgia. During the first interview, he wore a blazer and shirt with a scarf and cologne that permeated the room.

He had on dress shoes that appeared to be snake or alligator skin. He had a short haircut with a very long beard. He wore a bracelet made of black beads on one wrist. Initially, he appeared to be a slightly nervous but seemed to gain more confidence as the interview progressed. During the second interview, Sonny was more relaxed and authentic. He was dressed in a black shirt and tan coat. He wore jeans and black shoes.

Sonny was raised in a broken home environment. He referred to his formative years as plagued with strained relationships and impoverished environments.

It was always kind of on again–off again due to a lot of things. Father’s drug usage, mother’s low income. Poverty, which led to my disappearing and my mother leaving me outside . . . and from that point, it wasn’t really a family structure. It was just more wherever I could get to, that I could feel like for the night. (Sonny, personal communication, December 6, 2018).

Sonny struggled with homelessness as a young teenager before being reunited with his mother and rejoining his father briefly in another state. Upon returning to Georgia, he met his future partner.

She was a member of a religious group that prohibited dating outside of the formal religious sect. Sonny described picking his wife up from the compound where she resided to show his love and ensure a future with his partner that would not have been afforded if she remained in her religious group.

So, after some heated debates and issues, I kind of pulled up with my mother in the car and we had her run downstairs with her clothes, hop in the car. They

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thought I was coming up. And we just kind of burned rubber out of the compound. And then she had to come live with us (Sonny, personal communication, December 6, 2018).

Sonny and his future partner married shortly after dating and remained married for five years. Sonny described their initial dating relationship in a very positive light, however, after finding out she was pregnant and no longer willing to work, Sonny expressed that “my emotions towards her ended at that time” (Sonny, personal communication, December 6, 2018). Sonny later served in the military, was injured, and returned home. He suffered from mental and physical distress following his injury and his marital life continued to decline.

Sonny welcomed two daughters during his marriage. He had a child outside of the marriage as well. While he struggled with the initial shock of becoming a parent, Sonny truly dedicated his life to the well-being of his children. His description of childbirth was very unique and somewhat symbolic. He described the messiness but beauty of the experience.

Like, you’re going outside, you want to make sure you look [presentable]. And then, you put this baby on me with everything in the world on it. With no towels, no rags, or nothing. And it’s like, “Oh, look at the dad.” And you’re happy, because you have the baby. But at the same time, it’s like, Oh, my God. Something done got on my face just now. What is that (Sonny, personal communication, December 6, 2018)?

Sonny described financial issues and chronic infidelity as the main sources of stressors in his marriage. He described an emotional disconnect and difficulties with

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extended family as additional stressors. Sonny described maintaining a relationship with his ex-partner, citing that “she’s like my best friend now” (Sonny, personal communication, December 19, 2018).

In summation, five men currently living in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia, participated in this narrative research study. All participation was voluntary. All but two of the participants were raised in single-parent homes, and one of the participants was abandoned and homeless as a young teenager. The men reported that participating in the study was both a positive and reflective experience.

Study Results The purpose of this study was to explore how divorce affected a segment of Black men in America. Participants expressed many thoughts about relationships and divorce.

Although all of the men had experiences and effects that are unique to each participant, themes could be drawn across all of the narratives. Each participant shared information differently and according to their level of comfort.

All of the participants expressed the need for additional resources and support for Black couples interested in marriage or considering divorce. Participants also described a lack of positive relationship modeling. Further, a majority of the participants expressed negative feelings about their fathers and described a lack of caregiver attunement. They illuminated a need for support to maintain healthy relationships for Black men in particular.

The next section will focus on four common themes gleaned from the participants’ narratives. A lack of skills and resources is the first major theme presented in

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the study. It encompasses the men’s relationships before and after divorce, as well as their specific desires to not repeat the same dysfunctional patterns of their biological fathers.

The second theme is marriage fantasy versus reality. This theme focuses on how the participants approached their marriages with a particular fantasy of relational roles and expectations along with mutual agreement of family and lifestyle formation. However, the realities of financial stressors along with the corroding dynamics of chronic infidelity overshadowed those previous longings driving the men toward marital dissolution. The third theme centers on the divorce process. The decision to divorce and the legalization process are specifically highlighted. Parenting following the divorce is also discussed.

Finally, the fourth theme covers the participants’ reflections following their divorces. It highlights what they would tell their younger selves after the experience of marital dissolution. The participants also discussed their general thoughts about marriage and divorce in the Black community.

Lack of Skills or Resources Study participants passionately discussed how a lack of resources impeded their understanding of healthy relationships. This lack of understanding subsequently influenced the framework of their marriages. There was a general agreement that participants engaged relationally with others based on the skills obtained while growing up. In essence, you only know what you know.

Relationships (before and after divorce).

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The men were asked about their relationships before and after their divorces. They noted both positive and negative relationships that influenced their experiences of marriage and divorce. One of the primary issues was a lack of positive relationships and role modeling that many of the participants felt limited their understanding and framework of healthy long-term relationships like marriage. They also identified a lack of attunement and strained or absent parental relationships.

The research participants described limited resources as a lack of understanding in relationships and generational limitations with support and education. Limited skills and resources were attributed to a lack of modeling of healthy, productive relationships in their environments. These limitations were seen as major factors in their divorce.

All of the study participants admitted to an ignorance that negatively impacted their ability to understand how they viewed and were viewed by others. Joseph considered his behavior toward his wife and admitted to not understanding the gravity and negative impact to her emotional well-being until that very moment in the interview.

Well, I didn’t have that understanding that I did it until just now. I didn’t even realize that I was emotionally abusive. I mean, I knew it after the marriage, but I was more focused on becoming emotionally healthy for myself, and I never really reflected on what my father did to my mother that made me realize now that that’s what I was doing when I was married (Joseph, personal communication, March 8, 2019).

He went on to explain how a lack of proper modeling put him at risk of relationship dysfunction. He admitted to not understanding the framework of a healthy

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relationship. Instead, he imitated aspects of the dysfunctional relationships in his surroundings (e.g., multiple women and emotional abuse).

I never had a clear definition of what a relationship would look like. Now I realize as an adult that it was not modeled before me. Because a relationship was not modeled, I did not know what to do (Joseph, personal communication, February 8, 2019).

Paul concluded that his pride was a hindrance as he navigated his marriage and divorce. He did not seek support or advice during his divorce because he believed that it would be interpreted as weakness and an inability to handle personal problems.

During that time, I really didn’t reach out professionally to anyone, and, one, I think a lot of it was just pride and, two, I just felt I didn’t need it. Not saying that I didn’t need it, but at that time it was just one of those, you know, it is what it is.

Sometimes you just don’t know (Paul, personal communication, March 21, 2019).

Paul referenced his peers and mentors and their influence on certain behaviors that ultimately led to the dissolution of his marriage. He admitted to having few positive role models and instead emulated the bachelor and male chauvinistic behaviors he witnessed from those in his close social circle.

Most of my friends, at least the ones I was closely associated with, had the same hobbies [extramarital affairs], I guess. Yeah, yeah. Cover for one another. So like I said, if someone is gonna kind of give me advice to go home or whatever, nah.

Some of them were my mentors, who were older, you know, older guys, especially who’ve been on the department. They’re my mentors, and shoot, I want to be like Mike (Paul, personal communication, March 21, 2019).

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Sonny, Ferris, and Doug highlighted the ignorance and failure to understand relationships, as well as other social norms and institutions, as a result of a generational lack of education and social support that led to a stagnation in growth.

You know, we don’t know any of those things. Those are things that are learned later on in life, if you’re taught that. And during that time, you have so many obstacles to overcome. What looks good when you’re struggling is what you see.

You’re kind of a product of your environment (Ferris, personal communication, February 28, 2019).

Doug discussed his observations of his grandfather and grandmother’s relationship and how changing social roles and changes in gender equality have impacted how he views dating and women. His grandparent’s home was male-dominated, and Doug identified the changes he has encountered when meeting career-focused and independent women.

What do you mean shut up and listen to, what you can’t tell me to shut up . . . (imitating today’s woman). And it’s . . . the way of the world is different now. I said, wow . . . that’s how I was growing up. I watch. My grandfather, he was like the man of the house. Caveman style. My grandma didn’t work. She worked, but she didn’t hold a job very long (Doug, personal communication, January 9, 2019).

Sonny and Doug illustrated their lack of consistent and healthy relationships during their formative years as a catalyst to seek intimacy from their wives. Both men described a failure in receiving love and emotional regard until their first serious, intimate relationship. For Sonny, that was his wife. Both admitted to trying to emulate the love they had observed in other family systems but had failed to receive themselves.

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Sonny described feeling a sense of empowerment after his divorce, referring to the experience as one of valor. He reported being more secure in walking away from relationships since his divorce and admitted that it impeded his ability to commit to longterm relationships at this time.

It’s kind of like a badge of honor because I think it takes a lot to walk away. And once you’ve walked away and you’ve survived walking away, and you’ve been happy after walking away, you know you can walk away again (Sonny, personal communication, December 19, 2018).

Not like him.

Participants spoke freely about their relationships or lack of relationships with their biological fathers. Ferris’s father was incarcerated for most of his life. Paul reported a good relationship with his father. Joseph, Doug, and Sonny reported damaged relationships with their fathers. These broken paternal relationships appeared to leave participants with the resolve to avoid similar relational pitfalls and errors in their lives.

Joseph was particularly concerned about emulating his father by having several children and failing to be involved in their lives. This yearning not to repeat his father’s pattern was a great influence on his decision to marry. He also referenced the unsuccessful attempt to avoid the abusive behaviors he witnessed from his father.

I decided I was going to marry her, I said that I did not want to be like my father. I think my father has nine children by probably five women. . . . My goal was to not be the father that had multiple children, five, six, seven children, by multiple

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women. And, I didn’t want to beat my wife. Rather than physically beat her, I still emotionally beat her (Joseph, personal communication, March 8, 2019).

Sonny described a fear of being like his father that initially kept him from wanting to get married. He did not want to exhibit the same abusive behaviors that he witnessed as a child.

I didn’t want to get married, because I was always afraid that I would be like my father, or whatever that meant at that moment when I thought it. I never wanted to be him. So, it was like, okay, if I don’t get married, then I don’t have a chance of being like him, because I won’t have a wife to beat. I won’t have a wife to leave. I won’t have a wife to provide for (Sonny, personal communication, December 6, 2018).

Sonny and Ferris also illustrated how they did not want to emulate their father’s absent and inconsistent behavior by striving to remain in their children’s lives no matter how difficult things became, especially during their divorces.

Relationships were discussed by study participants in several ways. Some stressed the continuing patterns of dysfunction from their childhood into their adult relationships.

Joseph specified what he learned from divorce regarding relationships along with a new understanding of male and female roles. Paul stressed the lack of positive peers and role models and described how those unhealthy relationships did not constructively impact his behavior in his marriage.

All but two participants had strained or broken relationships with their biological fathers. Many of them described being alienated and abandoned by their fathers. Some also observed their fathers physically and verbally abusing their mothers. In an attempt to

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avoid repeating their fathers’ behaviors, many ultimately ended up imitating the behaviors they so abhorred such as having multiple children, exhibiting abusive temperaments, and engaging in extramarital relationships.

The Marriage Fantasy All of the men entered into the marriage covenant with certain expectations of relationships and marital roles. Participants spoke about the painful disappointment of not having their expectations adequately realized. The participants remarked how their beliefs or limited understanding of relationships impacted their decisions to marry. Finally, they reflected on how the experience of divorce influenced their current perceptions of marriage.

Participants described their marriage fantasies in terms of physical and relational aspects. When those fantasies were not achieved, it resulted in resentment and disappointment. Some of the participants responded by emotionally withdrawing, whereas others decided to pursue relationships elsewhere. Nevertheless, most of the fantasies appeared to be predicated upon the need to receive more emotional regard from another.

Doug’s marriage fantasy was shaped by a lack of relatedness in his immediate surroundings as a child and young adult. He admitted to wanting to receive love and acceptance and described what that desire looked like practically.

I mean, just to be able to . . . I’ve always said I want to be able to get up in the morning, and look at somebody, and be like I love her, and go like, “Look, I’ll see

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you later, and have a great day at work.” I’ve always wanted to do that. You know what I mean (Doug, personal communication, March 21, 2019)?

Paul and Joseph talked about having a particular physical criteria for their spouses that was fueled by an illusion or assumption of what their spouse should look like and what marriage would entail. These unrealized fantasies lead to unfulfillment.

I had other issues going on outside the marriage that I was involved in, but then that illusion that initially drove me to be married . . . that, I wasn’t seeing that, and that wasn’t giving me fulfillment (Paul, personal communication, March 8, 2019).

Sonny reflected on how his idea of a fairytale marriage ended abruptly and how the realities of marriage and parenthood amplified his feelings of distress and increased his withdrawal from his partner.

I had no intentions of the fairytales that I used to see of us growing old, and going back down to our original dates and doing that stuff again. And anniversaries. I could care less about any of that. I just want to pay the bills. And even though I was working, I wasn’t able to have fun anymore (Sonny, personal communication, December 6, 2018).

Infidelity.

Infidelity in the marriage appeared to be the most common factor that contributed to the divorces of all of the research participants. In many cases, both partners were unfaithful by intimately engaging in relationships with people other than their spouses.

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All of the participants discussed the shock and discouragement of discovering their partners’ affairs.

All of the men reported having adulterous relationships, and Joseph highlighted how he believed that his infidelity ultimately led to his wife’s affair. He also spoke about his sexual needs and an expectation of his wife’s acceptance of his extramarital relationships without giving any consideration to her desires. This seemed to be a common theme with all of the study’s participants.

Although I planted the seed, what ended up germinating is there was infidelity on her part. Because I was planting those seeds, as the proverbial head, I think the seed began to grow. There was infidelity on her part. I discovered it. I left (Joseph, personal communication, March 8, 2019).

Paul echoed the sentiment by admitting his focus outside of his marital relationship but conceded that his felt his wife’s infidelity was a catalyst for his chronic affairs.

It was a combination because early on in the marriage infidelity crept up on both sides. . . and that is, especially when you’re young, it’s a major obstacle or hurdle to understand, and to really be able to get over that hurdle and maintain some type of marriage. Trust [was] broken, the confidence was broken, the respect, a lot of it was just because infidelity sends you in so many directions, and touches so many chords (Paul, personal communication, March 8, 2019).

Sonny and Ferris felt deceived when each discovered their partners’ extramarital affairs. Sonny displayed some disbelief during the interview of how illusory his wife had been while he was serving in the armed forces.

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But, while I was gone, my wife . . . Because when you’re gone, your money goes to somebody. So, it was going to her. . . in the beginning. She was taking the money and going back home and spending a lot of time with her ex (Sonny, personal communication, December 19, 2018).

After Ferris relocated out of town for work, his wife and son moved into an apartment with his sister. During that time, his wife had an extramarital relationship. His son witnessed the indiscretions in the home and contacted his father about the matter.

Ferris described being devastated: “So one night, my son calls me and he said, ‘Daddy, it’s been some man coming over here every night.’ So, oh man, it hurt. Man” (personal communication, December 18, 2018).

Despite the affair, Ferris decided to forgive her infidelity. After reuniting with his wife and returning to the Atlanta area, he noticed more indiscretions.

It turns out that she was living with this man, while married, with my daughter.

So, this man calls my phone and says I want my woman back. I love her. I don’t care if you’re married or not (Ferris, personal communication, December 18, 2018).

Infidelity was described as having intimate relationships outside of the marital union and was reported by all study participants. The men described engaging in extramarital affairs for various reasons and admitted to feeling distress and pain when discovering their partners’ indiscretions. Chronic infidelity was one of the primary reasons that the participants ultimately experienced divorce. Another hard reality faced in marriage, as described by the study’s contributors, was financial strain.

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Financial stressors.

As aforementioned, financial stress was another common theme seen across all of the participants’ narratives. Participants said a lack of understanding fiscal responsibilities contributed to financial stressors that led to complications before and after divorce.

Financial stress was also described as misrepresentations of bill payments and monetary deception. A few participants discussed how systemic problems such as chronic homelessness or childhood poverty impacted their experience of marriage and divorce.

Participants also spoke about the struggle to regain financial independence and security following divorce.

Financial stressors were described as having a damaging effect on participants’ relationships. For most, these hardships continued and impacted their experience of divorce. For some of the participants, difficulties came via financial mismanagement and lack of prudence. For others, financial problems were systemic or the result of spousal deception evidenced by a failure to handle financial responsibilities resulting in the loss of personal property.

Joseph and Ferris spoke in detail about poor financial management and its stressful impact on their relationships. Ferris referred to a lack of economic understanding and education. He referenced the difficulty within the Black community to utilize obtainable financial establishments properly to achieve economic success. He mentioned a lack of understanding of the basics of tax law and a lack of business acumen that he believes negatively impacts a Black couple’s ability to overcome financial stressors. He stated that his failure to navigate divorce effectively was likely a result of his own financial uncertainty.

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Joseph concluded that it was poor fiscal understanding and management that led to a loss of property and the foreclosure of his home. Although he and his wife worked, they did not pay bills promptly and made frequent unnecessary and extravagant material purchases. Paul also talked about dealing with foreclosure and the repossession of his car.

He described feeling frustrated because he thought the monthly bills were being paid by his wife. Instead of paying the bills, Paul revealed that his wife kept the money and allowed their debts to increase.

Oh, it was major because of being the primary breadwinner of the household, my whole belief was to “bring home the bacon,” and you take care of the household.

My money was turned over and with an expectation that the bills were paid. It wasn’t until such time that I get a call from a creditor. Just by chance I’m home. It was one of them things that I was constantly working. I come to learn that bills weren’t being paid. That was the beginning, and then I think the car got repossessed, the house (Paul, personal communication, March 2, 2019).

Employment.

Participants identified specific aspects of their employment or military service that greatly impacted their martial relationships and lives before and after divorce.

Distance and stress in the work environment appeared to be significant influences. For Paul and Ferris, being in a position of power or in nonconventional industries were also noted as impactful on their lives and self-confidence before and after their divorces.

While married, Ferris decided to pursue a career in music. This choice separated him from his family for a period of time. This distance caused marital strife that resulted

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in infidelity on both sides. Ferris admitted to regretting his decision and relocated back to Atlanta to reunite with his family, and he found employment in the area.

As a police officer, Paul found his employment to have a great influence on his sense of self, as well as his social contacts. He also found that the stress he encountered while working was not properly addressed and often spilled into his personal life, ultimately affecting his marriage.

You’re constantly elevated to a point where, you know, when I was in homicide, we would go to a scene and I could see somebody’s insides hanging out, head blown off, and we can go eat right after it. . . . That was just the profession, and so my point being is that you build up the stress level to a point where the things, even in your personal life, that sometimes the stress that you build up comes out in the wrong way in your personal life (Paul, personal communication, March 21, 2019).

Sonny enlisted in the army when he was stressed financially and emotionally during the beginning of his marriage. He did so because he “thought it would be fun” (Sonny, personal communication, December 19, 2018), but he had second thoughts after his first child was born. By the time he entered training camp, Sonny regretted his decision. Sonny was injured while training and returned home unable to walk and properly care for himself.

According to Sonny, his medical and emotional needs were not properly addressed consistently, which eventually took a toll on his marriage. He expressed a great deal of resentment towards the armed forces and his wife. His determined that his wife failed to support him during a vulnerable time and believed that his military service and

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sacrifice were not appreciated. That caused Sonny to withdraw further. Sonny also referenced financial deceit on the part of his wife. Although he thought she was paying the bills and taking care of other mutual financial responsibilities, he discovered that she was preoccupied and often traveling using the money allocated for their bills. He also detailed his financial struggles following divorce.

Sonny reported having physical custody of the couple’s children during and after his divorce period. He and his kids initially slept on the couch of a friend but that arrangement did not last. Because of a lack of money, Sonny was homeless for a period of time. He located a 24-hr daycare at a local church where he eventually found employment. Until he was able to secure a residence, Sonny slept in his car while his children stayed at the daycare overnight. He expressed sadness and reflected on how his experience after his divorce mirrored his homelessness as a young teenager. The following is an excerpt of his reflection about making difficult, practical daily decisions during that time.

I’m probably not gonna eat for the next few days, but I’ll make sure they eat. So they ate every night, they were cleaned every night and I would drop them off. We had a 24-hour daycare. So I would drop them off early, so they would get there early. I would make sure they ate breakfast because that was included with what I was paying; still, I paid for the daycare (Sonny, personal communication, December 19, 2018).

Employment was described as an important component in all of the men’s lives.

Having employment provided financial security and social relationships, as well as promoted feelings of confidence and authority in some ways. In some cases, aspects of

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being employed created distance, high levels of stress, or physical injuries that greatly impacted the functionality of their relationships.

The Divorce Process The decision to divorce was not an immediate or simple choice for any of the participants. The determination was often triggered by a major offense and impacted by attempts to address marital problems or further separation. Children, mental health risks, and chronic infidelity were seen to greatly impact the participants’ decisions to move toward a legal divorce. Spirituality and available counseling or support services also influenced some participants’ motivations to legally divorce.

Although participants had different reasons for deciding to end their marriages, all of them made that decision over a period of time. Parenting was a primary influence when determining how to proceed with divorce for some of the participants. Each participant ultimately had a distinct manner of approaching the decision to dissolve their marriages, and all but one appeared to be unsure about their decision during various times between the initial decision and the legalization of the divorce.

For Sonny, his decision was precipitated by the unexpected pregnancy of his spouse and feeling deceived and alienated by her decision to become a stay-at-home mother. Instead of divorcing immediately, he made the decision to remain married but became emotionally unavailable.

We didn’t get divorced overnight. The next thing I did, once I saw the amount that it was going to cost to take care of a child. . . I did shut down. Literally. There was no nothing. There was no hugs, no kisses. No I love you[s], no dates. I don’t need

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to touch you in the bed. I don’t need nothing (Sonny, personal communication, December 6, 2018).

Some of the men considered themselves emotionally numb or detached from their marriages before filing for a legal divorce. Although Sonny described no longer being emotionally invested in his marriage, he admitted a lack of understanding about getting divorced. “I didn’t hear much about divorce. When you hear about . . . divorce, it wasn’t like a run and get divorced thing” (Sonny, personal communication, December 19, 2018).

Sonny referred to marriage as an institutional or governmental construct meant to undermine authenticity in relationships by putting strict and unrealistic parameters on people that ultimately ensure failure and likely culminate with some form of monetary recompense.

When deciding to divorce their partners, study participants highlighted the legalization process of divorce, as well as the impact of the court system on paternity in particular. Divorce was not a sudden decision for any of the participants. There were varying approaches to seeking a formal divorce.

When discussing the effects of marital dissolution with the study’s participants, it was noted that the process of getting divorced was not immediate and took place over a period of time. As can be seen, the consideration and impact of divorce were experienced in uniquely different ways. For Joseph and Paul, the act of legalizing their divorces was within a short time frame and involved working mutually with their spouses in the process.

Feelings of rejection were the catalyst for Joseph to begin considering divorce. He referenced an event only a month into his marriage.

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The truth is, and this is probably really, really sad, probably 30 days after we were officially married she told me no sexually. She said no. That, if I look back and am completely just butt-naked honest with myself, was probably the first time I felt rejection, and I thought that that was not the place for that (Joseph, personal communication, March 8, 2019).

Joseph reported that his legal divorce process began with a 90-day separation.

Although he still had hope to repair his marriage, he realized that returning to a healing state within that time frame was not realistic. Joseph described being happy with the conditions of his divorce and explained that by the end of his marriage he and his partner were willing to accept the terms voiced by each side: “Ninety days, I was not healed in 90 days. I can promise that. That was over the summer of ‘16. We talked about separation, if we did it, and how we would do it” (Joseph, personal communication, March 8, 2019).

After Paul and his spouse separated, their relationship became very contentious.

He reflected on the need to accept the end of his marriage and his attempt to discuss this decision with his wife.

And so one day I sat down with her and I told her. I said, I think we both agree that marriage is no longer an option for us, and I think it would be crazy for us to allow a third party, who has no idea about us, our situation, our kids, to make critical decisions about how we’re gonna work it out (Paul, personal communication, March 21, 2019).

When discussing the legalities associated with divorce, all of the men in the study felt that the court system was biased against men, particularly fathers in family court.

Paul, a retired police officer and someone with years of experience in the courtroom,

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commented on his assumption that the courts would ultimately rule against him during divorce proceedings.

I thought I was gonna get the end of the stick. If I went up in there in the court that at the end of the day, the court, which I hate to say it, there’s something about that court, my hindsight is to hurt men (Paul, personal communication, March 21, 2019).

Parenting Through and After Divorce All five participants are parents and spoke strongly about the role of men in the lives of their children. Participants identified some of the stressors that surfaced during their divorces and the difficulties of being rejected by their children or being denied the ability to see them for periods of time. Others said that being a parent was an incentive to seek healing and recovery during or after their failed marriages. The participants appeared to enjoy fatherhood and spoke highly of the experience despite their divorces.

Sonny had two daughters within wedlock and another child out of wedlock before his marriage ended. He described loving parenting but was greatly distressed with the financial responsibilities involved with parenthood. As a father, Sonny battled homelessness and has constantly tried to pursue additional opportunities to support his family.

Doug talked about the difficulties of parenting in a blended family. He described feeling like he had to choose between a relationship with his children and his wife’s children. He expressed regret about how that impacted his relationship with his own children during that time:

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Unless you have children with the person that you’re married to . . . well, with my situation . . . they had theirs, I had mine. And it’s like, I always had to put theirs before mine” (Doug, personal communication, January 9, 2019).

For Paul, parenthood was a prominent influence in their decision and movement toward divorce.

I stayed in that situation because I wanted to be with my kids. I didn’t want my kids to be in a broken home, but I had to come to realize that we were doing more damage because of the bickering and fighting going on. At the end of the day, she would kind of bring them into adult situations and adult conversations, which doing that made it even worse. So at that point I decided to be the petitioner and I filed for divorce (Paul, personal communication, March 21, 2019).

Paul illuminated how challenging it was to remain in his children’s lives during and after his divorce. His relationship with his children was strained and he felt rejected during that period of time. However, he was committed to remaining in their lives because of his belief that the dynamics would eventually change.

It was challenging. I think my challenge, as I indicated previously, was that having young ladies and, being realistic with myself, that at some point their mother probably was gonna be dating and having another male figure around, and so I wanted to make sure that they were not affected or somehow harmed in that way. So that was my struggle with staying around, but weighing it and looking at it, it was a tough situation because, like I said, they’re being caught in a grown-up situation. But actually it was funny—I shouldn’t say funny, but it was amazing—

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my relationship with my kids actually got better once we separated and divorced (Paul, personal communication, March 21, 2019).

Ferris and Paul emphasized the struggle of fathers in the family court system, citing the difficulty in being heard and treated fairly, especially when addressing the custody of the children.

First of all, as a man, the system is not built for you. Truly. It’s not built. . . . Yeah, I mean, just the father’s rights. I mean, me personally, I feel as if the child is just as much mine as it is yours. You know what I’m saying? Who are you to say what I can and can’t do with my child? You know? And then they get the court systems or the public systems involved, and everyone is against you. Now you have their attorneys, their workers, against you (Ferris, personal communication, February 28, 2019).

Ferris also shared why he believes some divorced fathers withdraw from their children’s lives. He determined that some men decide to disappear because of frustration and financial loss. He did not commend those fathers but said he could understand their exasperation.

And that’s why you get a lot of fathers that just disappear. I wouldn’t even say “a lot of,” I’ll say about 60% of ‘em are probably good fathers. . . . You know what I’m saying? But what we tried to do, is we tried to do a situation where I had her in the summers and holidays and stuff, but it would become a situation where it was like, “Well, she can’t come if I can’t come,” type of situation. That makes it hard, because you wanna see your child, but then they put so many stipulations on it. You know what I’m saying? It’s just a thing. You can’t even do what you

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wanna do. You’re worried, you’re tired, by this time. You know what I’m saying?

Before you even begin (Ferris, personal communication, February 28, 2019).

All of the participants considered parenthood to be a prized role. All but one of the participants reported financial difficulties and stress when managing parental responsibilities after getting divorced. Many of the fathers expressed frustration with the court system, citing a bias against fathers. Ferris referenced those frustrations as a primary reason why some men decide to withdraw from their children’s lives after the relationship with the mother has ended.

Reflection My younger self and Black men on Black marriage and divorce.

The participants were asked to consider their experience of divorce and its impact on their lives. The men spoke in depth about how marital distress and the experience of divorce also served as incredible times for deep reflection. After this consideration, the men were invited to voice what they would tell their younger selves before their divorce.

Their responses reflected newly found insight, as well as desires for learning and resource support.

The men of this study had quite a bit of advice for their younger selves. The guidance included having a better understanding of oneself and a stronger skillset that would facilitate strong or consistent financial security. Sonny strongly dissuaded his younger self from getting married, whereas Doug and Paul identified personal ways they would tell their younger selves to grow and mature (e.g., no infidelity and better communication).

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Because of the nature of the research, the participants also spoke liberally about the experience of divorce, specifically from the lens of a Black man in America today.

The participants identified cultural and systemic issues that impact the livelihoods of Blacks. Many interjected that change must begin on a personal level before being impactful on a larger social scale.

Sonny expressed discouragement about legal marriage. He concluded that it served as way to monetize love and dysfunction (divorce). Sonny said he would tell his younger self to avoid marriage because he no longer believes in the legal process.

I don’t believe in it anymore, definitely just based on the way it ended. No. And then just. . . if you look around, I look in a room and you come with 10 people that are married, eight of them gonna be divorced (Sonny, personal communication, December 19, 2018).

Sonny described the lack of understanding that many Black men have when they enter the institution of marriage. He felt that more focus was placed on the celebrations and wedding ceremony instead of how to maintain a relationship or deal with marital strife. He also stressed that he felt unprepared for his divorce experience.

They don’t prepare you. Look at those diamonds! Look at that dress! Look at this, but they don’t show, okay, look at this depression, look at this suicide, look at this drug addiction, look at this infidelity, look at these babies you can’t provide for.

You don’t see that until you have filed for divorce (Sonny, personal communication, December 19, 2018).

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Joseph illuminated the lessons he learned while going through divorce. He acknowledged the faulty criteria used when choosing whom to marry. Joseph said he would be more discerning about his relational needs and the character of a future spouse.

I would tell myself. . . You need to figure out what you need. Who you are, and what you need. Then you can allow that person to be drawn. You open up experiences. You talk to as many people as possible, and don’t deviate from what you need, just because it looks good, because there’s fool’s gold. You might get one that’s close, but don’t stay stuck on that one until you find exactly what it is that you’re looking for (Joseph, personal communication, March 8, 2019).

Joseph stressed the importance of Black men being emotionally available for their spouses and children. He lamented that it is often a learned behavior and that it took years of introspection and professional support to understand the importance of relatedness with others.

If particularly Black men don’t know that you need to be emotionally available for children, emotionally available for your spouse or your significant other, you need to be emotionally healthy (Joseph, personal communication, March 8, 2019).

Paul would tell himself to figure out what he needs in a life-long partner based on a better understanding of himself. He discouraged his younger self from choosing his wife based on social norms and standards. He also emphasized the importance of not rushing into matrimony in order to mature and have time to identify his needs in a longterm relationship.

Think well before even getting married. I think sometimes we make that leap. . . we don’t even know enough about ourselves. Once you identify who you are and

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what you are truly about and what you want out of life, then you can be a better choice and also make better choices. And so that would be my advice . . . to not necessarily let society dictate or the stigma dictate what you do but try to learn more about yourself and who you are (Paul, personal communication, March 21, 2019).

Paul also identified a need to understand the resilience of Black culture as well as the impact of intense social and personal stress on the lives of Black men, women, and families.

Doug referred to Black men as lost and referenced the need to regain their identities and realize healthier goals. He said that he would not have gotten married until ensuring he really knew the woman he was marrying. He also decided that if he could end his propensity to have extramarital relationships, then he would be able to have a successful and happy marriage in the future.

Lastly, Ferris concluded that he would tell his younger self to be financially secure and focused in order to take care of a family without extreme financial burdens.

Ferris articulated the need for Black men to have better role models and leaders.

Well first we need that leadership. So I feel as if we had more leadership, if we had more people showing on television, and things of that nature . . . showing like: “This is how me and my friends have financially put our structure together. . . .� You know what I mean? And that’s what we need in order for us to really start growing as people, growing as couples, men and women. Just to start building amongst each other (Ferris, personal communication, February 28, 2019).

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Need for role models.

The men in this study talked about the struggles and stresses that Black men endure and their effects on relationships with others. Based on their own experiences, the participants believed Black men would benefit from healthy role models and leaders, professional support, and personal reflection. All of the participants spoke positively about the perseverance and fortitude of Black men in America.

Summary This above section itemized the findings of this narrative qualitative research study that looked at the experience of marital dissolution in Black America using the view of a sample of five Black men in the Atlanta, Georgia, area. The section also offered excerpts from participant narratives that addressed the contexts and effects of divorce in their lives. Parenting, infidelity, and financial stressors were discussed most across all participant narratives.

This section reviewed the four themes taken from this study participants’ narratives. The theme of a lack of skills and resources illustrated the relationships that influenced the men and their intimate relationships, including their attempts to avoid dysfunctional behavioral patterns. Marriage fantasy versus reality was the second theme.

It highlighted the factors that contributed to participants’ faulty expectations and fantasies about relationships that when met with the realities of marriage attributed to the demise of their marital unions. The third theme was the divorce process and illuminated the difficult process of divorce and the experience of trying to parent through separation and

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marital dissolution. The final theme detailed the participants’ reflections and opinions of marriage and divorce in Black America. Results were gained by identifying the recurrent themes that emerged from the initial sorting of the data, building a code framework, and establishing emergent themes into primary categories.

Chapter V Discussion and Implications This study was conducted to explore the experience of divorce using a sample of Black men from the Atlanta metropolitan area. Five Black men elucidated the contexts

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and the effects of divorce in their lives. Participants described a history of parental, familial, and intimate relational experiences that impacted the expectations of their marriages. Each participant referenced the hard realities of marriage and the destructive factors that were identified as reasons for their marital dissolution. They demonstrated reflective insight. There were moments of deliberate contemplation during and in between interviews that were expressed by all of the participants.

I will begin this chapter with my considerations from the collected narratives.

Narratives have been divided into the following categories: lack of skills and resources, the marriage fantasy, the divorce process, and reflection. The relevancy of this study to other research results using the framework of social, cultural, and individual components outlined in the literature review of this paper will be next. This will be followed by a brief highlight of the three-dimensional space narrative inquiry and how space, sociality, and time have been illustrated, followed by an understanding of the research findings through a psychodynamic lens. Next, I will discuss biases and limitations identified while conducing this research. Lastly, I will present the implications to clinical social work research and practice.

Narrative Considerations Lack of skills and resources.

Study participants talked about certain relationships before and after experiencing divorce. I found in this study that the men spoke disparagingly about their fathers. All of the men reflected on a lack of positive relationship modeling in their lives. Although

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Ferris and Paul had fathers or stepfathers who served as consistent male caretakers, the rest of the participants lacked that connection. Even when that daily male impression was available, the participants said they lacked an understanding of the components that would enable them to maintain a healthy relationship with a spouse.

The participants highlighted how their familial relationships greatly impacted their abilities to relate to others. Sonny reported feeling like he was never a priority to his parents. He had to defend and take care of himself. Sonny became somewhat efficient in selfcare but continued to lack emotional regard. Instead, he was rejected by his parents and spouse. This is evidenced by his parental abandonment and augmented by his partner’s infidelity and failure to provide for him following his injury in the military.

Sonny learned from an early age that he had to perform to receive. This is translated today in his continued efforts to earn love.

Doug described a broken childhood as well. He did not report a strong relationship with his mother and was not acknowledged by his biological father despite living in close proximity. His lack of attunement and consideration was so profound that he thought the concept of “love” was unreal. Yet, after moving out on his own, he sought to find the very love for himself that he did not receive as a child. Doug entered marriage with the fantasy that his wife would provide an unrestricted and unconditional love.

Joseph entered his marriage with certain fantasies of spousal roles and expectations. He remarked on regulating his marriage via emotional control. Although he did not recognize his abusive behavior immediately, he later expressed regret about his emotional demands and denigrative approach. Sonny described his behaviors as “cold” and also expressed regret about his behavior toward his ex-wife.

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Based on the findings in this study, it is surmised that because of the failure of attunement and proper modeling, most of the participants entered their marital unions unequipped. Instead, they attempted to organize their relationships by modeling behaviors they observed in their environments. These behaviors were often destructive and abusive. The participants lacked the skills to communicate properly with their spouses as evidenced by withdrawal, verbal and emotional abuse, and relationships outside of their marriages. These behaviors negatively influenced their marriages and served as catalysts for divorce. All of the participants blamed their lack of relationships with their fathers and negative community influences as reasons for deficient emotional and social aptitudes.

There narratives coincide with what Risch et al. (2004) surmised: “Boys who feel close to their fathers—regardless of custodial or biological status—report a lower likelihood of divorcing in the future” (p. 56).

Research shows that male children are more susceptible to stressful events that occur during their development (Sternberg, 1995; Zaslow & Hayes, 1986). This is evidenced by Joseph, Doug, and Sonny’s difficulties with trusting the intentions of others. Their trepidation is likely the result of trauma experienced due to a lack of attunement and neglect, and they were further impaired by limited environmental resources. This mirrors other authors’ research findings suggesting that factors such as financial hardship, substance dependency, one-parent households, marital dissolution, and homelessness are factors that may be somewhat liable for maltreatment and psychic injury (Elmer, 1977; Emery, 1989; Starr, 1979).

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Sonny and Ferris disclosed that their fathers were incarcerated for parts of their lives, preventing consistent and healthy relationship bonds. Research indicates that the effects of imprisonment of a family member has far reaching consequences on family systems. Sykes and Morato (2018) surmised that the incarceration of a family member “increases material hardship and familial stress, exacerbates marital instability by straining family ties, and is associated with a variety of adverse outcomes for children” (p. 131).

Doug’s lack of fatherly acceptance and emotional connectedness with his family generated a history of criminal behavior. Instead, Doug sought emotional regard from his peers and community, which led to a period of illegal conduct and incarceration. Doug described being incarcerated several times. He attributed his criminal involvement to a lack of legal financial resources along with negligent caregivers. Instead of receiving guidance and instruction in the home, he was provided a sense of belonging with deviant peers. These peers, in turn, negatively influenced his behavior. His feedback is similar to what was noted in a study conducted by Viatro, Brendgen, and Tremblay (2000). Their findings indicated that for adolescents with low levels of attachment to parents during preadolescence, the deviancy of close friends was related positively to adolescents’ delinquent behavior at ages 13 and 14 (Viatro et al., 2000).

A lack of positive relationship modeling and involvement with deviant peers can put a young person at risk for emotional problems and social and juvenile delinquency.

This risk increases for youths of color. Researchers have shown that parental involvement and emotional cohesion decrease the association and involvement in delinquency (Henneberger, 2013; Viatroet al., 2000). When those vital aspects of relationship

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attunement are absent and family cohesion is lacking, a growing young person is at great risk for delinquent behavior leading to limited resources and stigmatization (Viatro et al., 2000). Ferris, Sonny, and Doug emphasized how a lack of proper male role modeling greatly limited their understanding and role as young men.

Ferris and Sonny detailed the perils of navigating mainstream society without the proper relational or vocational skillset that would enable them to be productive. This lack of understanding influenced how they approached their marriages and experienced their divorces. During his first interview, Sonny said, “No poor kid wants to grow up poor.”

Poverty and the risks associated with inadequate housing, high crime areas, and limited resources were prevalent in most of the narratives presented in this research. This corresponds with Killewald’s (2013) study about race and the wealth gap. She deemed that “among wealth holders, blacks remain significantly disadvantaged in assets compared with otherwise similar whites” (Killewald, 2013, p. 1179). Participants who related their experiences with poverty focused on financial security. For Sonny, this turned into a pattern of concern and increasing anxiety about financial security because that was a constancy that was not available to him. It remains an obstacle that he has continued to try to surmount. For Ferris, his experience of divorce was worsened because of a lack of fiscal aptitude and security. According to Mandara and Murray (2000), family income is related to the perceptions of family environment for African American adolescent boys (p. 487). As can be seen with Sonny and Ferris, it is possible that limited financial and social resources negatively impacted their sense of worth and ability to provide consistently and adequately for their spouses and growing families. These

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impingements likely influenced their roles within their families and how they perceived the viability of their family systems and environments.

Chronic and long-standing institutional racism and social prejudice have greatly limited the availability of education, affordable housing, and employment opportunities.

Those injustices, in turn, have negatively impacted Black adults’ abilities to earn consistent, adequate wages to support their children and build long-term economic savings. Further, according to Garibaldi (1992) and Pierce (1970; as cited in Smith et al., 2011), Racial, educational, and professional institutions, such as society at-large, must realize that there is an emotional, physiological, and psychological cost of gendered racism. These experiences shape identities, motivations, dreams, activities, and the psychological and physiological welfare across the personal and professional lifespan of women and men of color. (p. 64) In summary, a lack of resources and the generational struggles resulting from high crime, drugs, and impoverished environments prevent proper resources and cultivate a survival mentality. During their interviews, participants stressed the desire to learn despite socioeconomic status. However, limited resources as a result of impoverished communities and strained family systems often hindered their ability to do so. In turn, this left them depleted emotionally, involved in the judicial system, or lacking skills that are necessary to progress significantly in society.

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The marriage fantasy versus reality.

The participants were able to recognize their fantasies and wishes relating to intimate relationships, particularly marriage. Studies have indicated that marital expectations of men and women are quite different and have attributed that to the increase in divorce (Dickson, 1993; Franklin, 1980; Lawson & Thompson, 1995).

Participants discovered that financial strain and other realities of marriage and parenting left them feeling emotionally unfulfilled.

I found that all of the men were reflective enough to identify these fantasies as products of social norms and the desire to find the connection and support they lacked in earlier developmental stages. This has been documented in other studies. Risch, Jodl, and Eccles (2004) concluded that parental relationships have a very strong influence on how children later relate in their intimate, adult relationships. Literature indicates that male children are influenced by their fathers, especially as it relates to intimate relationships.

“The empirical evidence, together with fathers, may be more important for boys than for girls with respect to intimacy and attitudes toward divorce in adolescence” (Risch et al., 2004, p. 47).

There appeared to be an acceptance of wifely attributes based on social norms acceptance across all of the participants’ narratives. Joseph and Paul referenced physical attributes. Paul said he went with what he thought was “the mold.” This may have been a choice of opportunity or status. Paul was in law enforcement and having an image of authority and protection was important to him. He also referenced his pride as an influence in not only his choice of spouse but his relationships overall.

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These choices may have been influenced by what the participants assumed would be necessary to maintain happiness in a lifelong relationship. This may be the result of several parameters including a lack of modeling of healthy intimate relationships while younger, as well as an effort to achieve status, which is a noted benefit and reason why many pursue marriage and avoid divorce. According to Risch et al. (2004), “Fathers also socialize their children to behave and think in particular ways that may later influence their expectations about intimacy and marriage” (p. 47).

My interpretation of the research findings is that the lack of involved fathers and potential unhealthy relationship modeling in their immediate environments put the participants at risk of entering a martial union without the proper relational skillset along with giving them a limited understanding of spousal roles and expectations. I surmise that these failures and limitations increased the risk of divorce for these men. This is also evidenced in their reflections presented later in this chapter.

Research indicates that an adult who is both financially stable and emotionally available is likely to be able to adjust to marriage and marital strife more effectively. In fact, Hankins and Hoekstra (2009) concluded that financial security can work for marriage and make the decision to divorce more tolerable. “For married couples, an increase in resources can either provide a stabilization effect or, alternatively, can enable divorce by allowing the couple to overcome costs associated with divorce” (Hankins & Hoekstra, 2009, para. 1).

Poverty, homelessness, and incredible financially strain plagued the childhoods of many of the participants and continued into their adulthood. Financial deprivation caused

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a heightened sensitivity to financial stressors. This in turn manifested as financial shrewdness, control, and a source of distress.

All of the participants in this study described how finances and wealth impacted their lives and served as triggers for their divorces. Ferris, Doug, and Sonny entered their marriages with existing financial stressors such as debt, low-wage employment, or unemployment. During their marriages, this strain was evidenced by spousal bickering, emotional and physical withdrawal, and residential separation.

For Paul and Ferris, financial deception and mismanagement contributed to their divorces. Researchers have addressed the impact of wealth and economic intelligence on family progress and stability. Killewald (2013) contended that financial disadvantages and racial wealth disparity are likely the result of differences in investments (e.g., housing) and income. These mechanisms are evidenced by high interest rates and limited financial educational opportunities for Black couples, as referenced in Paul and Ferris’s narratives. Their risks occurred in a generational pattern and may continue to contribute to disparities seen in their lives as they seek economic repair and stability after their divorces.

Research shows that unemployment, low-paying jobs, and fewer educational opportunities put Black men in America at risk for incarceration, early death, and involvement in illegal activities (Sykes & Morato, 2018; Western & Wilderman 2009).

“The racial and educational disproportionality in incarceration is compounded by its numerous and well-documented social and economic consequences” (Sykes & Morato, 2018, p. 131). These consequences described in Sykes and Morato’s research are reiterated throughout the participants’ narratives.

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In summation, each participant described the limitations in their environments that exacerbated poor mental and physical health. These factors stymied their understanding of how to develop and maintain beneficial relationships. In this study, I found that chronic attunement impingements resulted in a limited understanding of marital roles and expectations along with a limited relational skillset. Lacking these skills caused them to be ill prepared for marriage and divorce.

The divorce process.

In the following, I will illuminate the participants’ experience of divorce and parenting during and after the dissolution of their marriage. The results of this study indicate that the decision to divorce was not sudden for any of the participants, although the time between formal separation and legalizing the divorce differed greatly for each man (ranging from several months for Paul to several years for Doug). I explored the participants’ assessment of the legal process and the involvement of the court system. I also analyzed parenting during and post-divorce.

Marriage has been undermined for Blacks since slavery laws forbade legal marriage (Tucker-Kernan, 1995). The continued racial ideology that has permeated American culture has continued to erode Black relationships, as evidenced by alarmingly low rates of marriage and high rates of divorce (Lawson & Thompson, 1995). All of the study’s participants expressed a belief that there was not enough support and honesty before and during their marriages. Each believed a lack of financial security, emotional immaturity, infidelity, differing views about parenthood, and employment/career goals contributed to their divorce.

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Every participant said his decision to divorce occurred over a period of time and following several disruptions and attempts to reconcile. This aligns with other research that described divorce as a process (Lawson & Thompson, 1995). The decision to divorce appeared to be largely impacted by the presence of children. All of the participants expressed concern and regret about the marital dysfunction and the prospect of divorce when considering the children involved, even if the children were not the men’s biological offspring.

The men described struggling with moving toward separation and ultimately divorce for additional reasons such as finances; the dissent of family, friends, and the church community; and a personal feeling of failure. This is aligned with research studies that concluded that divorce affects the attitudes, well-being and quality of life, relationships between ex-spouses and children, and economic marginality of Black adults (Bennet et al., 1989; Lawson & Thompson, 1995).

Ferris admitted to entering and remaining in his marriage despite the level of toxicity he was experiencing because of his children’s well-being and quality of life. He described his divorce process as frustrating and voiced a particular concern about his rights as a father. He reported feeling overlooked and discriminated against because of his gender and race.

Ferris felt underrepresented and stigmatized by the very social and legal institutions in place for his protection. Paul expressed a similar concern despite his law enforcement background. He felt that the system was somewhat rigged against his best wishes. Paul also described his divorce as a blow to his pride. He expressed concern about his children being raised by another man and others’ perception of that dynamic.

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Joseph expressed relief when his divorce was actually finalized but described the process of getting to that point as arduous and painful. He referenced many years of reflection to understand how the breakdown of his marriage and experience of divorce affected him. He also addressed and took responsibility for the thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that might have contributed to his divorce.

Doug expressed regret and sadness at the termination of a relationship he was hoping would be salvaged. He reported frustration with parenting and financial issues during his divorce process but said that after some time, things slowly began to improve.

He hopes to successfully remarry.

Sonny described his experience of marital dissolution as a period of emotional crisis and withdrawal, as well as the negligence of his emotional and physical needs. He described his experience using words such as “feeling used,” “numb,” and “discarded.”

This is similar to the thoughts expressed by Garibaldi (1992) and Pierce (1970), as cited

by Smith and Franklin (2011): Racial, educational, and professional institutions, such as society at-large, must realize that there is an emotional, physiological, and psychological cost of gendered racism. These experiences shape identities, motivations, dreams, activities, and the psychological and physiological welfare across the personal and professional lifespan of women and men of color. (p. 64) Their sentiments of frustration, deficiency, anger, and fear during their experience of divorce have some predication on the legal aspects that frame the dissolution of marriage and custodial rights that often go against the interests of Black men.

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As aforementioned, all of the participants expressed a desire to have strong relationships with their children. This was mostly centered on the deficits in their own lives as a result of their own father’s absence or lack of nurturing. Ferris and Paul experienced issues with maintaining contact with their children because of legal requirements resulting in feelings of abandonment and frustration.

Ferris described his experience as feeling outnumbered by individuals determined to undermine his parental rights and opportunities, despite his intentions and desire to be more involved. He used words such as “worried” and “tired” to describe his experience.

He surmised that many Black fathers likely experienced similar frustrations when trying to co-parent following divorce.

Paul discussed feeling depressed and unsure about his relationship with his children at times during and after his divorce. Describing his daughters as “Team Mommy,” he illustrated repeated refusals by his children to see him after physically leaving the family residence and getting his own home. He felt helpless because of his inability to communicate effectively with his daughters at that time and his presumption that they were receiving biased and negative reports about him from his ex-spouse and other family members. He described a resolve to remain in his children’s lives regardless but said “it was tough, man . . . that was a tough time.”

Doug, Ferris, and Joseph highlighted the importance of remaining in the lives of their male children specifically to help them flourish and overcome the obstacles they struggled with in their own childhoods because of the absence of their fathers. Research indicates that the absence of a father can affect a male child’s relational skills. Results from a study by Risch et al. (2004) about the influence of fathers on the emotionality of

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their sons show that “boys have fewer role models of intimacy in their environments outside of their families. Hence, fathers may be especially important as role models of interpersonal skills for boys� (p. 56).

The results of this study are not unlike the findings of scholars who surmised that divorce is a difficult process that occurs over a period of time (Lawson & Thompson, 1995). Additionally, there are cultural and social components to divorce that impede the agency of Black men trying to navigate the legal and custodial aspects of divorce (Lawson & Thompson, 1995; Smith & Franklin, 2011). These components include a lack of understanding of their legal rights, generational patterns of paternal abandonment, previous legal involvement that resulted in anxiety, and anticipation of prejudiced treatment. Smith and Franklin (2011) described how systemic and pervasive racism has affected the social perception of Black men: The country must seriously confront these forms of institutionalized racism because for African American males, the associated consequences of institutionalized Black misandry continue to be public health threats (p. 75).

The injustices and projection of hatred and disregard from mainstream society likely resulted in the internalization of self-blame and contempt. This seemed to result in depression, withdrawal, and the pursuit of reckless and deviant behaviors for the study participants. These actions were attempts to navigate persistent social and personal systems opposing them.

To summarize, in the preceding section, I reviewed the process of divorce and how participants managed co-parenting during and after their divorces. The study results show that divorce occurred over a period of time for the participants. The decision to

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divorce was impacted by parenting interests and concerns for the well-being of any children involved. The men revealed the frustrations they experienced due to biased treatment received while navigating the legal system, particularly family court and custodial matters. The injustices and institutionalized racism from these entities are well documented. Finally, participants reported on the hindrances of parenting after divorce but praised the role and spoke highly of fatherhood.

Reflections.

The participants reflected on marriage and divorce among Black adults. They also described what they would say about marriage and divorce to a younger version of themselves. One of the unique aspects of this research project was the admission of epiphanies and self-reflection during and in between the first and second interviews.

I found that all of the participants believed they learned more about themselves by participating in the study. Paul and Ferris reported that answering the questions about their experience of divorce challenged them to mature and consider how their behaviors and decisions affected others. Doug and Joseph have entered into new relationships and are eager to apply what they have learned with these new partners. Paul, Sonny, and Joseph have grown closer to their extended families and ex-partners since their divorces.

They attributed this to maturity and a better understanding of relationships with others.

They have taken ownership of the behaviors that likely contributed to their divorces, including financial instability and infidelity. This is likely the result of natural maturation, reflection, and professional and spiritual support, which impacted their abilities to

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improve and maintain better relationships with their ex-spouses and extended family members.

The participants passionately talked about what they would tell their younger selves about marriage and divorce. The primary theme focused on gaining a better understanding of themselves to engender a better future for their family generationally.

This speaks to what McNamee and Raley (2011) reported: “Consequently differentials in family experiences can ameliorate or reinforce the intergenerational transmission of inopportunity� (p. 294). Based on the responses of this study’s participants, I surmised that all are making efforts to avoid the repetition of deleterious behaviors that could continue to impact the success of relationships in the future.

In the previous section, I reviewed the reflections of the research participants and found that the men felt that participating in the research had furthered their insight. The participants spoke about the need for resources and support to strengthen and address the experiences of marriage and divorce within the Black community. Finally, the men spoke about what lessons they would convey to their younger selves.

Summary of Findings I described the findings of this study in the above sections. Aspects such as poverty, fatherhood, employment issues, racial encounters, and general child and adult family formation were considered when interpreting the outcome data. The major findings are reviewed below.

In this study, I found that the participants were ireful about the lack of provision and guidance from their biological fathers and limited positive male role modeling.

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Furthermore, after some reflection, the participants were able to realize the connection between the incredible and idealistic expectations of their spouses and attachment impingements with caregivers earlier in their development. Next, the research findings indicate that risk factors in impoverished communities such as high crime and limited resources and healthy role modeling, as well as chronic father absenteeism, hindered the participants’ healthy understanding of spousal roles and expectations, which put them at a higher risk for marital breakdown and divorce. I also found that some of the men entered into their marriages with existing financial problems and that financial strain impacted and motivated the decision to divorce for most of the participants. Additionally, the results of this research show that each participant moved toward marital dissolution slowly and made the decision to enter into legal separation and divorce over a period of time. Finally, I found that all of the men believe they gained insight after participating in the study. Each of these insights were described and discussed earlier in relation to prior research and meaning.

Revisiting the Three-Dimensional Narrative Inquiry Space Below, I will revisit the framework of the methodology. I used the threedimensional narrative inquiry space to frame the methodology of this research study. This particular inquiry space was used to guide interview questions, data analysis, and the conception of the final narrative. The three-dimensional narrative inquiry space was established by Clandinin and Connolly. This design looks at narrative research along the constructs of time, sociality, and place (Clandinin, 2013). For this study, the design

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framed the clients’ relationships and internal psychic reality while experiencing divorce in the Atlanta metropolitan area.

Temporality or time is the first construct to be detailed within the threedimensional narrative inquiry space. In this study, I explored time by looking at the participants’ experiences of divorce along a spectrum of past, present, and future. The participants’ narratives were presented in a linear manner that highlighted their formative years, their dating and married life, and finally, their experience during and post-divorce.

Time served as a framework to understand the context in which the participants experienced their divorce.

In the three-dimensional narrative inquiry space, the concept of sociality involves personal (i.e., intrapsychic) and social (i.e., relational) circumstances (Clandinin & Connelly, 2006). For this study, I examined sociality by exploring the participants’ relationships from childhood through divorce. This study highlighted the positive and negative aspects of relationships and how those associations framed their attachment styles and impacted their marriages and experiences of divorce. This research framework also elucidates the intrapsychic structures that underscore the study participants’ relational skills by highlighting the way the men experienced themselves and their relationships with others. This was illustrated by examples of reflective thoughts and epiphanies observed during the interview process. After some reflection, participants described having positive relationships now with their ex-spouses as well as extended family members. Although none of the participants saw their fathers in a different light as a result of the study, Joseph, Ferris, and Paul referenced an improved understanding of some of their father’s frustrations of custodial issues and intimacy within their family

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systems as a result of poor relational aptitude, social pressures, and institutional biases.

However, none excused or pardoned their father’s behaviors as a result of this understanding.

The last construct of the three-dimensional narrative inquiry space is place.

Clandinin and Connolly (2000) surmised that life takes place . . . someplace. Place resonated through the narratives of each participant as they went through their marriage and divorce (e.g. moving for work, location of birth, current living arrangements).

Although some of the participants were born in and relocated from other states to the Atlanta metropolitan area, all of the participants legally wed and divorced in the state of Georgia. Thus, for the purpose of this research study, there will be a brief focus on the history of the Atlanta area. This also serves as a way to understand the participants’ divorce experiences within the context of their locale.

Atlanta, Georgia, was founded in 1837. It was a transportation hub with two railroad lines ending in the budding city. It was initially called “Terminus,” but Atlanta was determined to be a more suitable name. Atlanta is one of the fastest growing cities in the United States (40% population increase in the past decade) and is home to the world’s busiest airport, Atlanta Hartfield Jackson International Airport. It is also home to several industries including entertainment, sports, and medicine.

The academic systems in the Atlanta area are globally known. Atlanta has three historically Black colleges and universities in the heart of the city. Clark University, Spelman College, and Morehouse College are joined by other great institutions, including Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), Georgia State University, and Emory University.

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There is a deep, rich history within the city limits of Atlanta. Many Southerners view Atlanta as the seat of the Old Confederacy. It has been a mecca of change and for trailblazers. It was a hotbed of racism and the center of the civil rights movement.

Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. preached in and conducted much of his civil rights operation from Atlanta, Georgia. After being assassinated in 1968, he was buried there.

Atlanta has gone through many changes, including what many see as widespread regentrification efforts as older homes are demolished and replaced with less affordable housing. Today, many consider the Atlanta metropolitan area to be the New South, a place that is presenting new innovative ways of growth and medical advancements. Even more are seeing it as the New South Hollywood, second only to Los Angeles, California, in terms of television and major motion picture production (“History of Atlanta,� n.d.).

Psychodynamic Theoretical Interpretation In this research study, I explored the participants’ experience of divorce through the lens of attachment and self psychology theories. Below, I will restate the findings of the study. The primary tenants of both theories will also be reviewed, followed by an analysis of the findings using the framework of each theory.

It is my understanding of the findings that the lack of involved fathers as well as potential unhealthy relationship modeling in their surroundings put the participants at risk of entering into a martial union without the proper relational skill set and with a limited understanding of spousal roles and expectations. Chronic economic strain along with poor financial acumen also served as triggers for divorce. I surmised that these failures and limitations increased the risk of divorce for these men. I also determined that

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fatherhood was seen as an influence before and after divorce and was considered to be a healthy and rewarding role, particularly after the dissolution of their marriages.

Attachment theory.

Generally, attachment can be defined as the bond one has with another.

Attachment was initially detailed by John Bowlby in 1930. During his earlier empirical studies, Bowlby determined that the mother–child relationship is essential for healthy biological and emotional development: “The infant and young child should experience a warm, intimate, and continuous relationship with his mother (or permanent mother substitute) in which both find satisfaction and enjoyment� (Bowlby, 1951, p. 13). His work was expounded upon by Mary Ainsworth and her research with infant security and attachment.

Most notably known for the study coined the Strange Situation, Ainsworth explored how infants responded when in close proximity, separated, and returned to their mothers over a period of time. Based on her research findings, she determined that infants with secure attachments were able to play in near proximity to their mothers, tolerate being separated for a period of time, and respond to their mothers with excitement and normal emotional regulation upon being returned. Insecure infants needed assurance even when in near proximity to their mothers and exhibited anxiety and crying spells when separated. These infants also had some trouble adjusting emotionally upon return to their mothers. These infants were determined to have an anxious attachment to their mothers.

Infants who appeared to lack a strong attachment to their mothers, seemed passive when separated from their mothers, and were indifferent or irritated upon their return were

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determined to have an avoidant attachment (Ainsworth & Bell, 1970; Bretherton, 1992).

Disorganized/disoriented attachment styles were later added to the categories (Main & Solomon, 1990; van Ijzendoorn, 1995). Collaboratively, Bowlby and Ainsworth (1991) championed attachment theory.

Internal working models are internal representations of the world and self and are molded by the interactions one has with attachment figures during formative years. These models serve as the framework for how one engages intimately with others. Bowlby (1973) postulated that as children develop, internal working models aid in determining how to react to attachment figures based on their previous behavior (e.g., attuned, negligent). He determined that when an attachment figure is attuned and caring, it nurtures a secure attachment, creating a sense of confidence and worth in the child. On the other hand, when an attachment figure is not attuned and is abusive or unreliable, an insecure attachment can result, producing a poor sense of self-worth and efficacy in the child. He surmised that these internal working models are influenced by parent–child relationships and impact the child’s attitudes about intimacy later in life.

In 1973, Bowlby once again emphasized that current attachment styles were predicated on attachment experiences during early developmental periods. “It is hypothesized that dysfunctional development may, at least in part, be determined by a basic insecurity in adults as a consequence of their own histories of attachment relationships” (Bowlby, 1973, p. 367). However, he also determined that earlier attachments can be reorganized and reshaped later by more positive and healthier experiences and representations (Bowlby, 1988).

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The transitory state of family structure and society in general as evidenced by high rates of single parenting, divorce, and remarriage has created at best an expectation and at worst an anticipation of recurrent family transitions. These chronic changes can cause impingements to attachment formation, resulting in a range of attachment styles.

Based on my interpretation of the research findings, I surmised that the participants carried anxious and ambivalent attachment styles from earlier phases of development into their marriages. Furthermore, the participants’ internal working models were created or established as a result of a lack of attuned caregivers and impoverished, transitory, and unsafe environments.

Most of the participants described their parental and caregiver attunement as poor.

Their caregivers were inconsistent or authoritative in nature, and most of the men’s immediate environments were impoverished and lacked attuned adults. Sonny described a chaotic upbringing that included abandonment and homelessness. His caregivers were not attuned to his needs, and he had to take care of himself. His father was incarcerated and his mother was not a consistent caregiver. Ferris had no father and inconsistent adult figures during his formative years. He had to rely on himself, per his own report. Doug was ignored by his father and was in an environment where love was not readily expressed. He felt neglected and discarded. Joseph was part of a transitory family system that was continuously growing. His mother was not present, and he identified an older sibling as his main support. He had a broken relationship with his father. Paul was raised in a two-parent family and described a healthy upbringing but admitted that there were moments of toxic verbal abuse and a lack of tenderness and affection in the home. All of the participants experienced impingement and trauma that impacted and influenced their

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attachment styles. All of the participants exhibited anxious attachment styles with some manner of ambivalence at times. I assumed this based on the participants’ personal narratives.

Research indicates that the stability of an adult’s mental state is a representation of the individual’s evaluation of childhood experiences and the impact of those experiences on current functioning (Main, Kaplan, & Cassidy, 1985; van Ijzendoorn, 1995). Caregiver attunement and nurturing affect a person’s ability to relate to others and be related to by others. Other studies indicate that attachment styles and security are manifested in affect regulation and intimate connectedness (Mikulincer & Shaver, 2002).

The attachment styles of most of the men in the study were greatly impacted by a lack of attunement and availability by their parents.

Internal working models affected how the study’s participants entered into their marital relationships. It is my assumption that these men had anxious attachment styles leading to poor confidence and low self-worth. These internal representations impacted their expectations as well as their manner of sharing and receiving intimacy.

Consequently, these internalized representations, comprising disappointment, rejection, neglect, and unprocessed trauma, framed how they experienced their divorces.

Most of the men spoke about dealing with chronic infidelity and other marital strife. This could have been in an effort and hope to establish a better relationship than they experienced when younger. It could have also been a defensive reaction to secure safety for themselves by attempting to maintain a relationship and avoid further exasperation of deeply held beliefs of unworthiness. Why did these men stay in toxic relationships? Bowlby spoke to that and the natural drive for humans to invest in familiar

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settings and people for comfort and security. “Bowlby posits that humans are motivated to maintain a dynamic balance between familiarity and preserving, stress-reducing behaviors (attachment to protective individuals and to familiar home sites)” (Bretherton, 1992, p. 767).

After experiencing divorce, these men reflected and gained an understanding of how former relationships, particularly attachments to their primary caregivers, have impacted their current functioning. All reported a desire to improve their relational connectedness in their next relationship and attributed their experience of divorce to improved insight in understanding who they are, their needs in a relationship, what they can realistically offer, and what they would like to receive in a practical and nurturing manner.

Self psychology theory.

The psychology of the self was espoused by psychoanalyst Heinz Kohut after his work with narcissistic personality disorders. He determined that the use of empathic introspection, which involved being attuned to the client’s clinical needs, improved treatment effectiveness. Based on transferences identified in treatment, Kohut determined that the psychopathology he was observing was likely the result of faulty experiences with vital caregivers that did not support the development of confidence and regulation.

Kohut placed incredibly important value on the use of empathy. Ultimately, he concluded that empathy was essential for the cohesive development of the self. He surmised that humans require certain psychological components in their environment to develop a healthy self. According to Kohut and Wolf (1978), “psychological survival

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requires a specific psychological environment – the presence of responsive-empathic selfobjects providing needed selfobject experiences” (p. 66). These experiences allow for responses from selfobjects that facilitate the cohesion of the self, evidenced by a sense of agency and initiative.

Kohut described a person’s core or personality as the self (Kohut & Wolf, 1978).

Kohut identified selfobjects as objects (vital others) who provide functions that are essential to the healthy development of the self. Selfobjects perform functions that a person cannot perform on his or her own. As an individual’s sense of self increases in efficiency, regulation, and confidence, these functions are later internalized. This is referred to as transmuting internalization. Kohut and Wolf (1978) identified two kinds of selfobjects during early development, mirroring and the idealized parent imago: There are two kinds of selfobjects: those who respond to and confirm the child’s innate sense of vigour, greatness and perfection; and those to whom the child can look up and with whom he can merge as an image of calmness, infallibility and omnipotence (p.

413).

In self psychology, selfobject functions are traditionally delineated into three categories, which are mirroring, idealizing, and twinship. These experiences initiate the development of emotional regulation, goal orientation, and building self-confidence.

Mirroring experiences are those that promote confidence, efficacy, and significance.

Twinship functions foster a sense of togetherness and relational connectedness. Lastly, idealized experiences (idealization) promote emotional regulation, calmness, and goal setting through experiences in which one looks up to another as infallible (Kohut & Wolf, 1978; Rabstejnek, n.d.).

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Along with collaborator Earnest Wolf, Kohut (1978) determined that when a child has selfobjects that provide healthy selfobject experiences, it results in a strong sense of self that is empowered, secure, and confident. If the selfobjects are not responsive, which results in faulty selfobject experiences, this will result in a fragmented or seriously damaged self.

For the research participants, the failure to have responsive selfobjects likely interrupted vital selfobject functions, stunting the formation of authentic confidence, regulation, and goal building. Mandara and Murray (2000) indicated that self-confidence is an important predictor of well-being and that fathers in particular are very impactful in the confidence and efficacy of their male children, especially in families of color. “Selfesteem is an important index of African American adolescents’ well-being” (Mandara & Murray, 2000, p. 477).

A spousal relationship is an almost symbiotic relationship in which two individuals become increasingly dependent on each other in emotional, physical, and mental capacities. Scholars have found that the security and level of acceptance seen in marriage are constructive for self-cohesion and change (Reis & Shaver, 1988; Rogers, 1970). In marriage, selfobject experiences are provided by the spouse and children.

Intimacy entails a level of self-disclosure, vulnerability, and cooperation.

Galatzer-Levy and Cohler (1993) described the intimate marital connection as a sense of oneness or union with another. As aforementioned, selfobject functions such as mirroring, idealizing, and twinship provide experiences that are necessary for development and a sense of cohesion. In marriage, the spouse often provides these selfobject functions, including confirming the other’s sense of greatness, idealizing components of the other’s

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personality and abilities as infallible, and twinship functions such as partnership and a sense of belonging.

Reis and Shaver (1988) stated that intimacy can refer to “feelings, to verbal and non-verbal communication processes, to behaviors, to people’s arrangements in space, to personality traits, to sexual activities, and to kinds of long-term relationships” (p. 1).

What happens when intimacy dies or is injured in a relationship? What happens when selfobjects become chronically unresponsive and selfobject functions become unfulfilling? Research indicates that the self is significantly affected by how one is understood by others (Galatzer-Levy & Cohler, 1993; Kohut & Wolf, 1978; Rabstejnek, n.d.). The participants described their experience of divorce as feeling alone and misunderstood by their spouse, children, and extended family members.

Partners’ responsiveness is a key component in the establishment of intimacy (Laurenceau, Barrett, & Pietromonaco, 1998; Miller & Berg, 1984). As their marriages began to dissolve, the men experienced unresponsive selfobjects resulting in faulty selfobject functions and unhealthy experiences. These experiences included a breakdown in intimate connection and a realization of each other’s fallibility, which affected the idealization function of the selfobject. Additionally, the men spoke of not feeling accepted or appreciated. This can be inferred as a breakdown in the mirroring function within the spousal relationship.

When interpreting the results of this study through a self psychological lens, I surmised that all but one of the participants experienced chronic unresponsive selfobjects that did not provide healthy selfobject functions. Sonny described a very disconnected childhood in which he found himself alone and abandoned. This pattern continued into

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his adult relationships. Ferris also reported having to depend on himself and a lack of caregiver attunement. Doug reported being lonely and not having protection or attachment to his caregivers. He was denied support and affection through his teenage years. Joseph did not have proper parental support and was taken care of by an older sibling instead. He also described having to care for younger siblings due to his mother’s absence. His father was not in his life consistently, and he reported having a broken relationship with him.

My understanding is that as a result of unresponsive selfobjects during childhood, the men established a sense of self that easily fragmented when they experienced rejection or unresponsiveness once again, this time from their spouses. Instead of finding the responsive selfobjects and trusting selfobject experiences they hoped for when entering into their marriages, the participants continued to encounter chronic unresponsiveness. The participants may have remained in unstable marriages in an attempt to overcome the trauma of chronic unresponsiveness during their childhood.

Their unsuccessful efforts toward this internal mastery were evidenced by the men withdrawing or becoming aggressive. This was also seen in episodes of depression or a lack of self-confidence and self-worth.

Chronic infidelity appeared to be a major problem in all of the participants’ marriages and greatly impacted their decision to divorce. The participants primarily noted sexual attraction and desire as reasons for their affairs. However, there were underlying components including feeling incapable, emasculated, and/or emotionally and physically rejected. “An extramarital affair is often about yearning and loss and the freedom to enact one’s own desire” (Weil, 2003, p. 31).

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As aforementioned, research indicates that major disruptions in attachment as a result of neglect and lack of attunement by early caregivers can impact and frame relational connectedness with others as an adult. The affairs could have been attempts at revitalization, a sense of wholeness, unmet desires, or control. The relationships outside of the marital union might have also been indicative of deeper intrapsychic needs that were unmet by caretakers during early development.

It is possible that the participants’ chronic infidelity was an attempt to master previous experiences of misattunement or trauma as a result of chronic unresponsive caregivers/selfobjects. “An enactment of an affair can be thought of as the new ground upon which the trauma scenario of failed mutual influence can be revisited� (Weil, 2003, p. 32). It could be possible that in an attempt to have selfobject experiences that would provide mirroring and twinship functions, the participants sought relationships outside of their marriages that were more responsive, even if for a temporary moment. All of the men described moments of emptiness and were able to connect this to an earlier trauma that felt similar to the disappointment and rejection felt during and after their divorces. It is important to note that although the participants were seeking acceptance, attunement, and/or responsiveness, the act of the affair might have actually increased their sense of loneliness and sabotaged the conscious or unconscious desire for human connectedness.

In summary, I used self psychology and attachment theories to understand the findings of this research study. Using an attachment theory lens, I determined that limited and inconsistent parental attunement and care created anxious attachment styles when the men were children. The failure on the part of the caregivers created internal working models of relationships that fostered low self-confidence, unrealistic expectations about

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intimacy, and a survivalist mentality. These unhealthy internal models were taken into their marriages and framed the way the men provided and received intimacy. Ultimately, these faulty representations impacted their experiences of marriage and divorce.

Self psychology stresses the importance of selfobjects that provide vital functions (e.g., mirroring, idealization, twinship) that are necessary for the healthy development of the self. Without responsive selfobjects to provide these functions, the self will be prone to fragmentation, low self-worth, and a lack of regulation. Interpreting the findings through a self psychological framework, I surmised that chronic unresponsive selfobjects and faulty selfobject experiences during the participants’ formative years resulted in the development of an insecure and vulnerable self. Consequently, all participants sought selfobject functions in their friends, spouses, and children. Failure within these adult relationships then became more traumatic and disconcerting for the self, which yearned for needed selfobject functions. Thus, during marriage, when seeking responsiveness from their spouses and not receiving it, the participants fragmented and re-experienced emotions of withdrawal, low self-esteem, rage, anxiety, and depression, similar to when they were younger.

Limitations This research study has the following limitations. The sample used in this study was small and limited to a specific region; therefore, it does not accurately represent the larger, general population of divorced Black men. The study results represent the opinions of the research participants during 2018 and 2019 when the data were collected.

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Furthermore, This study only interviewed the ex-husbands. Thus, the information gathered does not reflect the views of both sides of the marital union.

Unlike quantitative research, qualitative inquiry is not generalizable and cannot rely on the typical criteria of reliability and validity. According to Clandinin and Connelly (2000), thorough narrative inquiry should be descriptive, credible, engaging, and authentic. In this study, the participants’ narratives were inviting and plausible. I found the men to be credible, eager to engage, reflective, and articulate. Additionally, all participants engaged in member checking to confirm that their stories were captured correctly to ensure accuracy.

This qualitative research design was predicated on the worldview paradigm of social constructivism. Constructivism recognizes that participants make sense of their environments and relationships through a distinctive lens and subjective interpretation of their experiences. I chose this research design because I believe researchers conduct and analyze research through a specific lens and interpret the data through that subjective observation.

Importantly, I recognized my own biases as a divorced Black woman and their effects on the research process and on my perceptions and analysis of each participant. I monitored and controlled for these preconceptions by journaling and reflecting before, after, and between each participant interview. Furthermore, I participated in frequent consultations with the supervising faculty of this study to identify and abate problems that might have arisen from predispositions and biases.

Implications

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In this research study, I explored the context and experience of divorce for a segment of Black men in the Atlanta, Georgia, metropolitan area. I conducted this study due to the need for additional research about Black men and their experiences of relationships, along with the termination of those relationships. The research findings highlight the participants’ experiences of marital dissolution, along with the trials the men faced regarding the legal aspects of divorce and parenting.

Interpretation of the research findings yields several implications for the field of clinical social work and clinical practice. Based on the suggestions of the participants, I believe that more efforts should be made to explore and implement programs designed to end the stigmatization of mental illness and mental health treatment in Black communities. This could be achieved through psychoeducation and the availability of affordable, nontraditional forms of therapy intervention such as art, music, and psychodrama that can feel less invasive and might be accepted more by people who are apprehensive of traditional mental health services.

Increasing the availability of online, anonymous support sites for men of color who fear the stigma associated with seeking help could be beneficial. These sites could also provide forums in which men can actively seek psychoeducation and support from others with similar experiences.

Based on the research findings which show that relational connectedness and skillset were lacking in the formative years for most participants, it would be advantageous that programs and curriculum are established to address these needs for young black children, especially boys. Because the participants spoke about the lack of role models and limited free resources for couples, it is essential that affordable resources

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and pro bono professional support are provided for Black couples entering and exiting marriage. Considering the impact of financial mismanagement and generational deprivation, increasing financial education and support to Black individuals and couples entering and exiting marriage would be advantageous because of the aggravating financial effects marital dissolution can have on Black families and individuals.

Black men have a limited presence in academic research. This population remains marginalized and underrepresented. As a result, it is imperative that Black men be involved in more research so that their relational experiences can be better understood and supported. More research is needed about Black fathers and their relationships with their sons and how this impacts their relational connectedness and view of intimacy with others. It is advantageous for Black families to thrive in communities across America; thus, it is essential to learn how to support this population through strong research inquiries.

Considering this study’s findings, I suggest the following points for clinical social workers working with Black men who are experiencing marital problems and/or the dissolution of their marriage. First, based on the narratives provided, it is important for clinicians to recognize that relational difficulties are layered, and for their Black male clients, these difficulties might be impacted by cultural, social, and individual factors.

Clinicians must be knowledgeable of how these dynamics impact attachment styles, as well as their clients’ sense of self. This needs to be particularly considered within the social structures that have limited and vilified Black men for generations, resulting in a lack of resources to facilitate psychosocial and emotional progress. Additionally, it is important for practicing clinicians to understand the intrapsychic effects of unmet

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developmental needs and be mindful of the unconscious transference of these needs onto martial relationships, along with understanding how these needs impact functioning when they remain unacknowledged, unknown, and/or unmet.

With changing family structures and high rates of divorce in Black America, it is important to understand how to serve Black clients who might be in a transitory stage in their relationships, particularly intimate relationships. All of the men spoke passionately about their children; however, they reported problems with custodial issues and biased court systems. It is imperative for mental health therapists to recognize the needs of their clients with children, as well as the unique biases that fathers, particularly divorced Black fathers, face when managing custodial and co-parenting issues. Lastly, clinical social workers should identify resource availability and engage in social advocacy that targets larger community issues impacting family formation and disruption, such as inadequate resources, limited employment and housing opportunities, legal prejudices, biased criminal laws and legislation, improper policing of communities, and unjust family court decisions.

Future Research When considering the findings and implications of this study, future research should explore the intergenerational transferences that affect familial relatedness, and focus exclusively on how Black men experience parenting after divorce since the research in this area remains limited. Additional research should gather the perspectives of both divorced gay and heterosexual men in order to get a more extensive view of the divorce experience for Black men. Lastly, broadening the sample size as well as

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exploring the experience of divorce for Black men in different generations (other than Generation X) and in other regions of America may yield findings that are distinctive to other age groups and locales.

Conclusion In this study, I explored the context in which the participants experienced the dissolution of their marriages, along with the effects of divorce on their lives. Data were gathered through open-ended questions that attempted to capture an understanding of the participants’ perception of relationships before, during, and after divorce. This was done in attempt to understand the men’s sense of relatedness in a past, present, future context.

The participants were also asked to discuss the factors that led to their divorce and the process of going through the legalization. The participants spoke about parenting and their relationships with their children. Clients were asked to reflect on their experience and provide advice to their younger selves. Clients expressed gaining insight and admitted to reflecting on their relationships in between interviews. Resources that are affordable, anonymous, and easily accessible should be provided for Black couples and individuals.

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Appendix A Initial Recruitment Flyer Script

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MALE RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS NEEDED ARE YOU BETWEEN 37 – 47 YEARS OLD? ARE YOU DIVORCED? Your thoughts are needed in a research study about divorce.

This study offers you a chance to share your experience of marriage and divorce.

If you meet the eligibility requirements listed below, I would like to hear from you.

Additional Eligibility Requirements:     

Black or African American Biologically Male Married and Divorced in Georgia Divorced from Black or African American Woman for at least ONE year Have Not Remarried

What Does This Study Involve?   

A brief telephone screen to determine eligibility to participate in the study.

Two 60-minute interviews consisting of open-ended questions about marriage and divorce.

Safeguards will be maintained throughout this study in order to minimize risk and ensure confidentiality.

You will be compensated for your participation.

For more information, please contact Nicole Johnson Roberson Email: nroberson@icsw.edu Supervising Faculty: Dr. James Lampe Email: jlampe@icsw.edu

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Appendix B Initial Introductory Telephone Call Script

149

Hello. My name is Nicole Johnson (Roberson). First, I would like to thank you for taking the time to speak to me today as well as considering participating in my research.

During this call, I would like to tell you a little about myself and briefly explain the purpose of the study. I would like to confirm that you meet the volunteer criteria. I am also going to tell you about how confidentiality will be handled and private information protected. Finally, I will be asking demographic information about you as well as your availability for interviews. You are free to refuse to answer any questions as well as terminate the conversation and any further involvement at any time. Please ask questions and concerns freely.

I am a licensed clinical social worker in Atlanta, Georgia, and a PhD candidate at the Institute for Clinical Social Work located in Chicago, Illinois. For my dissertation requirement, I am conducting a research study about the experience of divorce for Black men in the Atlanta area.

I am interested in how divorce affects individuals as well as the larger community.

I am conducting this research because I would like to know how some Black men experience the termination of their marriages and how they believe the experience of divorce has affected their lives.

Because I am trying to capture the voices of a specific segment of Black Men in Atlanta, Georgia, I would like to quickly confirm that you meet the criteria for volunteer participation.

1.

Are you biologically male?

2.

Are you between 37 yrs. and 47 yrs. old?

3.

Do you identify as Black and/or African American?

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4.

Were you divorced to a woman who identifies as Black or African American?

5.

Were you married and divorced in the state of Georgia?

6.

Have you been divorced for at least one year?

7.

You have not remarried.

8.

Do you reside in the Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan area?

This is a narrative research study which means that information will be collected and explored through answering questions and telling stories. Stories will be provoked through open-ended questions presented in two 60-minute interviews. During these interviews, you will be encouraged to discuss many things including ideas, challenges, thoughts, feelings, and experience with relationships, gender, family, marriage, and divorce.

The first interview will be face-to-face at an office located in midtown, Atlanta Georgia. Ideally, the second interview will be conducted face to face at the same location approximately two weeks later. However, if more convenient, a telephone or audio-video call can be arranged for the second interview only. Interviews will be audio and video taped.

Additionally, toward the end of the research, I would like to verify your responses using a transcription of the interviews. This is to be sure I have documented your thoughts and reflections accurately.

151

Please note that any personal identifiable information collected during this study will be secured using a strict protocol. All audio and video recordings as well as the transcriptions of these recordings will be destroyed when the research concludes.

Again, your participation is completely voluntary and measures will be taken to ensure strict confidentiality. Following this call, I will email consent forms to the email address you provide. Please review this form before our first scheduled meeting. During this first meeting, I will review the consent agreements and protocol, and have you sign it.

Parking vouchers will be provided for in office interviews.

At the completion of both interviews, you will be given a $50.00 amazon gift card as appreciation for your time and participation.

Do you have any questions or concerns?

Are you willing to volunteer for this narrative study which requires you to participate in two 60-min interviews?

If no, I appreciate your time and attention. If there are no further questions, thank you and goodbye.

If yes, At this time I would like to confirm your contact information and schedule the first in-office interview.

(Collect all necessary contact and schedule the first interview).

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Appendix C Welcome Email

153

Dear Research Participant, Once again, I would like to thank you for your willingness to participate in this narrative research study about the experience of divorce for Black men in the Atlanta area. Your time and attention are greatly appreciated.

As I mentioned on our call, this is a narrative research study which means that information will be collected and explored through answering questions and telling stories. Interviews will be semi-structured and consist of open-ended questions that elicit discussion about marriage and divorce. These questions may also provoke conversation about your family and friends. You will be encouraged to discuss many things including ideas, challenges, thoughts, feelings, and experience with relationships, gender, family, marriage, and divorce.

Your participation is voluntary, and measures will be taken to ensure confidentiality and minimize risks. Please see the consent form for these details.

Your first face-to-face interview has been confirmed for: ________________________ at 1100 Peachtree Street NW Atlanta GA 30309 Suite 200. There is a parking garage located in the building and you will be given a parking voucher at the end of each in-office interview.

If you have any questions, concerns, or changes in your schedule, please contact me at your earliest convenience. I may be reached via email at nroberson@icsw,edu or by telephone at (404) 416-3220. I look forward to meeting with you soon.

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Respectfully,

Nicole J. Roberson, LCSW

James Lampe, PhD

Researcher

Supervising Faculty

Institute for Clinical Social Work

Institute for Clinical Social Work

401 South State Street Suite 822

401 South State Street Suite 822

Chicago, IL 60605

Chicago, IL 60605

(404) 416-3220

(773) 665-1380

nroberson@icsw.edu

jlampe@icsw.edu

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Appendix D Consent Form—Initials

156

Dear Research Participant, Thank you for volunteering for this narrative study about the experience of divorce for Black men in the Atlanta area. During the entirety of the research, safeguards will be maintained in order to minimize risk and ensure confidentiality.

Research safety precautions will be as follows: 1.

As a participant, I will be assigned a false name and no identifying information will be placed on research forms or final text.

____(initials) 2.

As a participant, I understand that the list of false names connecting to any identifying information will be securely stored in the researcher’s office in 3.

a double locked cabinet.

As a participant, I understand that the list will be completely destroyed at

4.

the conclusion of the study. ____(initials) As a participant, I understand that data that is collected electronically will be securely stored in password protected databases, and only the researcher will have access to the data and the password.

___(initials) 5.

6.

As a participant, I have agreed to attend two 60-minute interviews. ____(initials) As a participant, I understand that the interviews will be audio-video taped and transcribed by the researcher only. All transcriptions and recordings

7.

will be destroyed once the study is completed. ____(initials) As a participant, I understand that I will be asked about my experiences with family, marriage and divorce. ____(initials)

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8.

As a participant, I am free to refuse to answer questions, stop the interview if feeling distress and resume when comfortable, and/or terminate the

9.

interview at any time. ____(initials) As a participant, if I experience an emergency during the course of the interviews, the proper steps will be taken to get the necessary

assistance.

10.

____(initials) As a participant, if I experience residual distress following the research study, the researcher will offer referrals for counseling support as

needed.

11.

12.

____(initials) As a participant, I understand the potential risks and benefits of participating with this study. ____(initials) As a participant, I understand that all data collected electronically will be securely stored in a password protected database. Only the

researcher will

have access to the data and the password.

____(initials) 13.

As a participant, I understand that data results will be retained for five 14.

years upon completion of the study. ____(initials) As a participant, I understand the destruction of all identifiable text, software, tapes and journals will be done at the conclusion of the

study.

15.

____(initials) As a participant, I understand that paper products will be shredded.

16.

____(initials) As a participant, I understand that computer software will be erased and

17.

removed from storage devices or platforms. ____(initials) As a participant, I understand that USB drives, video tapes, and audiovideo recordings will be physically destroyed by the researcher. ____(initials)

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18.

As a participant, I concur that the safeguards and precautions listed on this consent form have been reviewed with me by the researcher. ____(initials)

Your signature is your consent to participate in this research study and acknowledgment and acceptance of the safeguard measures indicated above. If you have any questions, you may contact the researcher, Nicole Johnson Roberson at nroberson@icsw.edu or at 404-416-3220. You may also contact the supervising dissertation chair, Dr. James Lampe, at jlampe@icsw.edu or at 773-665-1380. ____________________________

___________________________

Participant (print name)

Researcher (print name)

___________________________

___________________________

Participant (signature)

Researcher (signature)

__________________________

___________________________

Date

Date

___________________________

___________________________

Dissertation Chair/ICSW Faculty

Date

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Appendix E Interview Guide Script

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I am going to ask you questions about different periods in your life with particular focus on aspects of your life before, during, and after your divorce. I am trying to get your honest and frank thoughts and reflections about your experience while married and the dissolution of that marriage. I also want you to be very honest about any concern, anxiety or unease you may have with the questions asked or stories provoked during this interview.

If you begin to feel distress or discomfort during this interview and wish to stop, we will stop until you are ready to resume. You are free to refuse to answer any questions as well as terminate the conversation and any further involvement at any time. Do you have any questions or concerns?

If so, questions and concerns will be addressed.

If not, the interview will begin.

I am going to assign a false name to you as a participant of this research.

Assigned False Name: ____________ Demographics: 1.

2.

What is your date of birth? (DD/MM/YY format) What is the highest degree or level of school you’ve completed? Are you

3.

currently in school?

Are you currently employed? (self-employed, out of work, homemaker,

4.

student, military, retired, unable to work, never employed) How would you describe your current household composition? (live alone, roommate, girlfriend/boyfriend, roommate, family

members, Pre-Marital:

other)

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1.

How would you describe your household family as a child/ as a teen/

2.

young adult?

Tell me your thoughts about marriage and divorce as a child/ as a teen/

3.

4.

young adult?

Tell me about your first experience with dating?

Can you talk about the influence your spiritual beliefs had on your

5.

6.

expectations of marriage?

Can you tell me about meeting and dating your partner?

Can you talk about your relationships with friends and family while dating your partner?

Now I want to focus on when you were married. Do you need anything before when begin?

Marriage: 1.

2.

3.

4.

Tell me about your decision to get married?

Describe your marriage.

How were finances handled while married?

How did your marriage impact or influence your employment or career

5.

goals?

I’m wondering if religious beliefs or other spiritual or moral/value

6.

7.

influenced your marriage?

If you have children, can you talk about parenting with your spouse?

How would you describe your relationships with friends and family during your marriage?

I am going to ask some questions about your divorce now. I am also going to ask you about how experiencing divorce has influenced your thoughts on a few matters. How are you feeling? Do you need to take a break?

Divorce:

162

1.

Please express your thoughts about the termination of your marriage and what factors you believe contributed to the termination of

the union.

2.

3.

4.

Can you say something about the contributing factors to your divorce? (people, events, etc.)

Can you talk about the separation period before the divorce was legal?

Can you talk about role responsibilities with your spouse during the separation and post-divorce process (breadwinner, parenting,

5.

subordinate, etc.)?

Can you talk about emotional support during your separation/ post-

6.

divorce (ex-spouse, partner, family, friends)?

Please express your thoughts about the process of divorcing your spouse

7.

and the aftermath of that experience.

Say something about your social life during the separation/ post-divorce period.

8.

How has the dissolution of your marriage affected your life?

9.

How has the dissolution of your marriage affected your views about relationships?

10.

How has the dissolution of your marriage affected your views about marriage/divorce?

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Appendix F Research Information and Consent for Participation in Social Behavioral Research

164

165

166

167

168

Appendix G Script to Assess Understanding

169

To ensure each participant fully understands their participation and the safeguards in place to protect anonymity and confidentiality, the following script will be used:

Before we begin, I would like to confirm that you understand both the conditions of your participation as well as the safeguards instituted to maintain the confidentiality protocol.

As I mentioned on our call, this is a narrative research study which means that information will be collected and explored through answering questions and telling stories. Interviews will be semi-structured and consist of open-ended questions that elicit discussion about marriage and divorce. These questions may also provoke conversation about your family and friends. You will be encouraged to discuss many things including ideas, challenges, thoughts, feelings, and experience with relationships, gender, family, marriage, and divorce.

If you begin to feel distress or discomfort during this interview and wish to stop, we will stop until you are ready to resume. You are free to refuse to answer any questions as well as terminate the conversation and any further involvement at any time. Do you have any questions or concerns?

I am going to review the consent forms sent to you in advance. I invite you to ask questions or express any concerns openly and freely. After going over each section, I will be asking your understanding of what was reviewed. This is to ensure that you fully understand the purpose of the research, participation expectations, confidentiality safeguards and finally any potential risks and benefits for participating in this study.

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After verifying that you are providing informed consent, I will ask that you sign and initial these forms. Do you have any questions?

Review each section of the IRB Consent form. In order to ensure informed consent, the participant will be asked to express their understanding of what was explained in their own words. Lastly, have participants sign and initialize the consent forms. (For consent forms, please refer to Appendix D and F.)

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Appendix H Debriefing Form

172

Dear Research Participant, Thank you for participating in this narrative study about the experience of divorce for Black men in the Atlanta area. During the entirety of this research, safeguards have been maintained in order to minimize risk and ensure confidentiality. As you know, your participation in this study is voluntary. If you wish, you may withdraw at this point, at which time all records of your participation will be destroyed.

Although it is difficult to predict, it is possible that talking about personal matters like family, marriage, and divorce may result in emotional discomfort. Although unlikely, participants could experience residual distress following their formal interviews. As a participant, if you experience residual emotional distress following this research study, you may access follow up mental health support for a minimal financial fee. To schedule an initial consultation, please contact your agency of choice directly.

If you have questions about how to access these services, please contact the researcher at (404) 416-3220 or via email at nroberson@icsw.edu. If you have questions about your rights as a participant, you can email the supervising faulty for this research or the IRB using the contact information listed on the consent form.

Mental Health Resources: 1.

Samaritan Counseling Center of Atlanta 1328 Peachtree St. NE, Suite B317 Atlanta, GA 30309 Phone: (404)-228-7777 2.

Care and Counseling Center of Georgia (CCCG)

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Phone: (404) 636-1457 (ext. 505) intake@cccgeorgia.org 3.

Metropolitan Counseling Services 2801 Buford Hwy, NE Suite 470 Atlanta, GA 30329 Phone: (404) 321-1794

Respectfully, Nicole Johnson Roberson Primary Researcher

174

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