Date of Conferral

2022

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Human Services

Advisor

Dorothy Seabrook

Abstract

Infidelity has been noted as a major reason married women experience stress and seek therapy. Infidelity is a social problem that results in adverse outcomes for individuals, families, and society. Health disparities are noted in women who have experienced infidelity. Studies have been conducted on marital status and health, but little has been studied on the holistic health experiences of married African American women who stay in their marriage after a spouse’s infidelity. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to explore how the experience of marital infidelity affects the holistic health of heterosexual African American women in the United States. The conceptual framework was based on premises from the superwoman schema and the stress coping appraisal theory. Data were collected via teleconference interviews with two married women over age 18 from the United States. Participants described experiences of remaining in their marriage following their spouse’s infidelity, holistic health experiences of infidelity, and how they cope with changes in their holistic health after experiencing spousal infidelity and remaining in their marriages. Analysis of the data revealed three major themes regarding the participants’ holistic health experiences: (a) the infidelity experience; (b) facing a new reality, the holistic health effect; and (c) holistic coping with infidelity. The results of this research may have implications for positive social change by starting discussions among human service professionals about how marital infidelity affects the holistic health of African American women.

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