Rethinking Marital Intervention for Asian Americans

In the United States, the divorce rate for couples marrying for the first time has plateaued at approximately 50%. Studies have identified marital distress and destructive marital conflicts as generic risk factors for many forms of dysfunction and psychopathology, particularly depression in adults and conduct disorders in children. Given the state of marital union, viable preventive alternatives are needed for use while couples are still happy, or at least in the early stages of distress. Asian Americans, traditionally seen as a model minority with a strong commitment to marriage and family, have also experienced the erosion of marital satisfaction and significant increases in marital dissolution. This research work proposes a rethinking of intervention for Asian American couples in the early years of marriage, with awareness for the cultural specificity. This proposal focuses on intervention for heterosexual Asian American couples, with the goal of finding an appropriate and effective program to mediate risks that may erode later marital satisfaction.