ABSTRACT
The third C examines how culture can impact couples in various ways. Culture is broadly defined to include factors other than just race/ethnicity, such as religion, nationality, socio-economic status, and sexual orientation. The chapter begins by exploring how to conduct an assessment of intercultural couples. This includes not only assessing for areas where cultural differences can create challenges (e.g., communication, family connections, values, parenting, gender roles), but also potential benefits. The various ways intercultural couples manage their cultural differences are also explored. The next section emphasizes the need to consider sociocultural factors in one’s assessment given the impact that larger social systems can have on couples, including influencing power dynamics and how individuals give meaning to their experiences. Incorporating ideas from Socio-emotional Relationship Therapy can be helpful when assessing sociocultural factors. The last section examines how couples can experience a lack of acceptance due to cultural factors (e.g., interracial couples, same-sex couples). Lack of acceptance can impact a couple’s level of social support and create minority stress.
