Introduction to an Interracial Relationship: Where Do We Situate Ourselves?

Throughout the ages, the topic of interracial coupling and relationships continues to garner many opinions. It has frequently been viewed in a negative light, and much of the research literature has approached the topic from a problem perspective. It is important to understand these couples’ and families’ experiences with a strength-based mindset. In this book, we aim to describe the experiences of interracial, intercultural, and interfaith couples to understand how interracial partners make meaning within their relationships and societal contexts across the life span, while offering clinical interventions for therapists. The goal is to understand how they can manage their differences across the life span, provide suggestions for therapists, and discuss relevant interracial, intercultural, and interfaith developmental tasks. This chapter details multiple frameworks to support these analyses: systems theory, Bronfenbrennar’s ecological systems theory, social constructionism, and Pamela Hays’ ADDRESSING model.