Date
8-20-2026
Department
School of Behavioral Sciences
Degree
Doctor of Education in Community Care and Counseling (EdD)
Chair
Michael Howard
Keywords
Intermarriage, West African men, African American women, Visa, immigration
Disciplines
Counseling
Recommended Citation
Asante, Kelley Owusu, "For Love or Green Card: Exploring Intermarriage Experiences of African American Women to West African Men in the First Decade of Midlife from a Historical, Cultural, and Psychosocial Perspective" (2026). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 8829.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/8829
Abstract
This transcendental phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of African American women who married West African men during the first decade of midlife. It investigated the historical, cultural, and psychosocial factors that shaped the women’s perceptions and experiences of intermarriage. The guiding theories were social exchange theory, competitive market theory, marital paradigm theory, and sex ratio imbalance theory. Social exchange theory, developed by George C. Homans in 1958, provided a framework linking behavioral psychology and microeconomics. The study centered participants’ narratives to understand how love, commitment, and cultural negotiation unfolded in these unions. The sample comprised 12 African American women between 39 and 70 years of age who were married to West African men and met the study’s residency-related eligibility criteria. Data were collected through interviews and focus groups, analyzed using a phenomenological approach, and verified through member checking.
