Intercultural Dating Relationships and Relationship Quality: A Mixed-Methods Explorative Study

Studies have explored intercultural couples (a relationship in which two individuals are from different cultures (Fonseca et al., 2021; Shenhav et al., 2017) over the past several decades. However, these studies have primarily focused on interracial relationships, rather than intercultural relationships despite calls from researchers. Therefore, the goal of this study is to understand the experiences of being in an intercultural relationship and identify what factors are associated with relationship quality for individuals in intercultural relationships. This mixed-methods study was conducted in two phases. Phase one involved interviewing individuals on Zoom who experienced an intercultural relationship (N = 14). Phase two involved participants who had ever been or are currently in an intercultural relationship completing an online survey (N = 85). Reflexive thematic analyses from phase one revealed that participants' identities changed as a result of acculturation, assimilation, diversifying perspectives, and cultural orientation. Example conflicts in these relationships included parental conflict, interpersonal value differences, cultural inflexibility, and family culture. Approaches to conflict included focusing on the cultural topic, being open-minded, adjusting, respecting boundaries, and dismissing conflict. Correlation and regression analyses from phase two revealed that approval from parents and friends were associated with higher relationship quality, whereas conflict about cultural differences was related to declines in relationship quality. Implications for intercultural relationships are discussed.