Premarital Counseling on Interracial Couple
For this assignment, you will select a controversial issue from the list of suggested topics and discuss
how it relates to working in the human services field. You must conduct a search of the available
literature (with emphasis on peer-reviewed journal articles) surrounding the selected topic. This paper
must be written in APA 6th edition format, which includes a title page, body of at least 7 full pages and
a maximum of 10 pages, and a reference page(s).
In this paper, please be sure to provide background information on the controversy surrounding the topic, addressing all views, and how it would relate to your work in the human services field. How would your values and beliefs about this issue impact your work? How would you go about avoiding issues of
malpractice when working with a client experiencing this first hand? Is there countertransference you
may struggle with?
In addition to addressing the above questions, please be sure to develop a case study that is relevant
to your topic and identify the specific steps you would take in working with that client. Be sure to include
information about the client’s race and ethnicity, religious beliefs (if any), family structure, relevant values, and beliefs as well as the presenting issue.
Remember to evaluate all aspects of the case—i.e. Does the issue fall under Duty to Warn? Is this a
situation that might require a referral to Child Protection Services? Take on the perspective of a
Human Services provider and be sure to fully address all concerns that might be raised.
Requirements:
You must use at minimum 3 scholarly resources for this policy paper. Wikipedia, Ask.com, and other
non-scholarly sources of information will not be accepted. If you are in doubt about the reliability of a
resource, ask your instructor.
Topics that must be addressed in this policy paper include
1. Background information on the controversy surrounding the topic
2. Discussion of the different views of the issue
3. How the issue will relate to your work in the field
4. How your values and beliefs about this issue will impact your work
5. Relevant case study
6. Discussion of the steps you would take in working with the client
Premarital Counseling of Interracial Couples
Name:
Instructor:
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Date:
Introduction
It has been more than half a century since the US Supreme Court legalized interracial marriage through Loving v. Virginia. Since then, interracial marriages in the United States have increased significantly, from 3% of all marriage unions in 1967 to 22% in 2020. Some people have regarded interracial marriages to foster unity and address prejudice and hatred in society. This perception has increased the acceptance of interracial couples, especially among people between 18 to 30 years. However, negative views on interracial couples still exist, especially when interracial marriages do not last like same-race marriages. Negative perceptions have been amplified by studies that indicate that people involved in interracial marriages experience severe forms of distress, anxiety, and cultural dilemmas. This paper examines the link between challenges experienced by interracial couples and the role of human service counselors. The paper also evaluates the different views on interracial couples and how human service counselors' values and beliefs impact their work.
Background
Interracial partnerships in the United States became lawful in 1967 after the Supreme Court deemed anti-miscegenation state laws unconstitutional. Although research studies have focused on post-1967, Foeman and Nance's (1999) research found evidence of Africans and White Americans intermixing even before Africans were shipped to the United States to become slaves. In Washington, interracial marriages were allowed even before the Supreme Court's landmark ruling in 1967. According to Takaki (2012), the state of Washington had liberal social policies in place before 1967, which motivated interracial couples to travel to the state from other states that had anti-miscegenation laws. Currently, interracial marriage rates are growing steadily due to the increasing racial diversity of the American population.
Findings on whether interracial couples enjoy the psychological benefits associated with the formation of a union are inconclusive. According to Anderson (2014), the psychological benefits associated with marriage are characterized by a complex pattern involving interracial couples. Numerous research studies have documented that interracial marriages lead to severe distress in Native Americans, Hispanics, and white women married to non-white spouses (Kreider and Marie, 2000; Zhenchao, 2011). Similarly, a longitudinal study undertaken by Bratter and King (2008) established that interracial marriages are 1.4 years shorter in length while new interracial couples have a 50% possibility of divorcing. However, Herr (2009) researched 808 couples and found out that interracial marriages possess similar features to same-race marriages regarding personality, psychology, religion, and culture. The study also revealed that all participants had the same level of fulfillment regardless of their partner's ethnic and racial characteristics.
Views on interracial marriages/couples
Since the Supreme Court's judgment in Loving v. Virginia, interracial relationships have positively perceived by the public. Research conducted by the Pew Research Center (2017) revealed that approximately four out of ten Americans viewed interracial marriage as good for society. The same study revealed that only 9% of Americans regarded interracial marriage as bad for society. Positive views on interracial marriages are more prevalent in men than in women. The increasing positive views on interracial marriage are based on the idea that as long as two people love and understand each other, their different races should not hinder their relationship or marriage (Törngren, 2016). Others support interracial marriage because they perceive it as an effective way of fighting hatred and prejudice in society.
Perceptions of interracial marriages differ based on the race of the partners involved. For instance, although all interracial couples are still viewed as less congruent than same-race partners, this perception is mostly used to refer to marriages where one of the partners is African-American. The impact of this perception was investigated by Feliciano (2019), and she concluded that 75% of white men who engage in internet dating exclude African-American women than other women as possible dating partners. On the other hand, due to the favorable economic conditions associated with white Americans, most Asian parents support the marriage of their daughters to white men (Lee, 2015). Nonetheless, they are very reluctant to allow their sons to marry women outside their race because they believe such relationships affect the continuation of their lineage and heritage.
Relationship to human service counselors
The National Organization for Human Services indicates that the human service practice's objective is to advance the quality of life of people through interdisciplinary practices that focus on remediation and prevention of problems. Unlike same-race marriages, people involved in interracial relationships face unique challenges that they cannot address. Various research studies have documented that interracial couples experience severe forms of stress and are likely to split than same-race partners (Kreider and Marie, 2000; Zhenchao, 2011). As a result, human service counselors have to understand the underlying issues that affect the relationships of interracial couples and formulate plans that improve their quality of life.
The i...