Let’s Figure This Out Together: Young Married Couples’ Milestone Conversations

Abstract

In this research, I examined how young married couples make milestone decisions through conversations in ways that strengthen their relationships. Consideration was given to how the couples and I co-constructed the stories of making milestone decisions (i.e., ones the couple deems emotionally and/or practically significant for their relationship). Participant couples told stories of three decision-making conversations, connected those conversations in a story of how they make milestone decisions as a couple, and reflected on their interview experience. Using a bricolage of Riessman’s (2008) thematic and dialogic/performative approaches, derived from a social constructionist perspective, I analyzed the stories the couples and I co-constructed in the interviews. The couples engaged in a variety of collaborative relational practices to make milestone decisions in marriage-strengthening ways. They tended to connect their decision- making conversations by emphasizing their individuality and/or deciding together. I discuss the implications of my research for young married couples, counsellors, and researchers.