Wallace, Danielle M.

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Thesis/Dissertation

Date

2014

Author

Wallace, Danielle M.

Advisor

Peterson-Lewis, Sonja Marie

Committee member

Thompson, Heather Ann, 1963-
Monteiro, Anthony B.
Sanders, Rickie

Department

African American Studies

DOI

http://dx.doi.org/10.34944/dspace/3989

Abstract

While the marriage prospects of educated African American women are of particular interest to the media and scholars alike, very rarely do these two groups examine the ways in which African American men understand and perceive marriage. In particular, though they have successfully provided socio-cultural and historically specific examinations of the topic, scholars of African American Studies have not conducted in-depth empirical analyses of African American dating and marriage practices. Simultaneously, social scientists, while providing significant empirical data, have not supported their work with a cultural analysis specific to African American people. In an effort to merge these two areas of scholarship, this dissertation investigated the dating and relationship ideals of college-educated Black men and women. The purpose of this study was to: (1) discover what traits and criteria males and females consider most important in a potential mate, (2) understand the role that the current social and marriage market conditions such as sex ratio, socioeconomic status and education level play in mate selection among college educated Black men and women and (3) develop a culturally specific theory of Black marriage. Through the use of surveys administered online and in face-to-face sessions, this dissertation sought to explore how predictor variables such as age, sex, family economic status and education level influence how 123 college-educated Black males and females ages 18 and over view their dating and marriage prospects and the types of characteristics they assign to the ideal mate. Preliminary findings showed that participants placed a high level of importance on getting married, had positive attitudes toward marriage and were optimistic about their marriage prospects. Additionally, factors such as mate availability, educational attainment and economic ability were of particular importance to participants and play a role in their choices about if, when and who they would marry. Lastly, the author articulated a theory of marriage, the Preliminary Intersectional Factor Theory of Marriage Attitudes and Marital Behavior. Based on the findings, it was argued that the proposed preliminary theory of marriage takes into account the structural, economic and cultural factors that intersect to shape the lives, marital attitudes and marital behavior of Black men and women in America.

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Theses and Dissertations

"The Search for "The One": The Dating, Marriage and Mate Selection Ideals of College-Educated Blacks