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Mexican American and Other Hispanic Couples’ Relationship Dynamics: A Review to Inform Interventions Aimed at Promoting Healthy Relationships

Public policy initiatives have set out to promote healthy relationships among low-income racial and ethnic-minority couples. Interventions used, however, are based on decades of research with primarily White, middle-class, college-educated couples and have yielded disappointing results. The aim of this literature review is to provide the reader with the current state of knowledge on relationship dynamics among the fastest growing ethnic-minority group in the United States: Mexican American (MA) Hispanics and other Hispanic subgroups. Thirty-seven empirical journal articles focusing on the following domains of interest were reviewed: (1) patterns of union formation and dissolution, (2) ideals and views about marriage, (3) relationship satisfaction and quality, (4) communication and conflict, and (5) unique themes. MA couples have higher marital rates, a decreased risk of marital dissolution, and report greater relationship satisfaction than African American couples. First-generation and less acculturated MA couples have a decreased risk of experiencing marital dissolution and dissatisfaction than second- and third-generation MA couples. Cultural variables such as family values and religion seem to play an important role in MA and other Hispanic couples’ relationship satisfaction and stability. In the interest of enhancing the effectiveness of intervention efforts directed at these couples, future research should focus on elucidating the mechanisms by which acculturation impacts MA couple functioning, examining the impact of other facets of relationship quality (e.g., emotional intimacy, support) on marital satisfaction, broadening samples to include other Hispanic subgroups, and exploring the types of services and method of delivery that MA and other Hispanic couples would like to receive. Limitations and strengths of the existing literature are discussed.