Over the past 40 years, researchers have become increasingly interested in the advantages of African American families, particularly marriages. They are able to identify and comprehend their strengths and weaknesses through research done.
Strengths of African American Families.
kinship-Many African American families place a high value on their extended families, and they frequently welcome relatives into their homes.
Flexibility-In stable African American households, role flexibility is a useful coping strategy. Black women typically hold a lot of influence in the family because it has been necessary for many of them to work outside the home.
Strong motivation to achieve-A lot of African American parents want their kids to attend college because they value education.
Strong commitment to religion-African American families find emotional, spiritual, and intellectual fulfillment in their churches.
Egalitarian approach-Most African American marriages are admired. However, an egalitarian marriage does not necessarily imply that both parties make the same contributions to the family and that they have the same priorities in life.
In many couples, role responsibilities are somewhat different. For example, one partner might be especially good at cooking and the other might be especially good at balancing the checkbook.
An egalitarian marriage, therefore, is marked by the fact that power and influence are shared between the partners, and each is held in high regard and respected by the other.
The average African American family is egalitarian in style rather than matriarchal or patriarchal. African American families have a longer tradition of egalitarian marriages than Whites.
Source Marriage and Family
