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Race and attraction studies are gaining popularity as conceptual frameworks explore the associations between racism, color blindness, race, and attraction. This study investigates the association between race and attraction by examining the connection between racial ideologies and bias. Same‐race bias in attraction is well documented in existing literature. This study explores whether the strength of same‐race bias is associated with color‐blind racial ideology, multiculturalism, and racial group membership. A sample of 374 Black and White young adults rated the attractiveness of six dating profiles. The results indicated that some associations between same‐race attraction and racial ideologies are moderated by participant race. Among White participants, greater color‐blind racial ideology was associated with stronger attraction to same‐race targets. By contrast, among Black participants, an opposite trend existed as greater color‐blind racial ideology was associated with a decrease in same‐race bias. Additionally, multiculturalism was associated with a decrease in same‐race bias among White participants. Further findings indicate that Black women and White men reported lower attraction to other‐race targets than Black men and White women. This study offers new insights into understanding racial bias in romantic attraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The field of relationship science began with understanding the role of attraction and has expanded to examine factors associated with relationship initiation, development, and maintenance. Despite the growth of the field, recent reviews of topics present in relationship science have revealed a dearth of literature examining sociocultural contexts that may impact relational processing, especially for traditionally underrepresented groups in science. Notably, given the theories, frameworks, and methods applied in these disciplines, counseling psychology and relationship science are at the forefront of examining such contexts. To this end, the goal of the special issue was to bring together scholars whose work is either an application of or showcases how the contemporary foci of counseling psychology, including but not limited to intersectionality, social justice, cultural competence/humility, identity, strengths‐based approaches, and social power hierarchies are applicable to the study of relationships broadly defined. This editorial synthesis provides a brief summary of the four articles that are included in this special issue and ends with recommendations for future research that intersects counseling psychology and relationship science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empirical investigations on whether there is a difference in relationship satisfaction for partners in interracial compared to intraracial relationships offer contradictory conclusions. The current study reviewed investigations of differences in satisfaction using a meta-analysis to determine whether and under what circumstances there is a difference in relationship satisfaction. Individual, dyadic, environmental, and methodological variations in study participants and designs were explored as potential moderators. Using estimates of effect size d, no overall difference in relationship satisfaction was found between intraracial and interracial relationships. The examination of the moderators revealed that sample size and geographic location of the study impacted whether differences were detected, but most tests for moderation indicated no differences. These conclusions suggest that the current literature on satisfaction in interracial relationships as less satisfied than intraracial relationships may be a reflection of publication bias in which statistically significant differences are published. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]