Intercultural Dating Patterns Among Young White U.S. Americans: Have They Changed in the Past 20 Years?

Abstract

Using the contact hypothesis as a theoretical foundation, this study investigates whether attitudes toward and frequency of intercultural dating have changed in the recent past. We surveyed 316 young White people and investigated the relationships between individual variables (gender, age), contextual variables (diversity of neighborhood, diversity of friendship and acquaintance networks, and family experience with intercultural dating) and intercultural dating--comparing our results with a similar study conducted by Philip Lampe in the early 1980s. Results suggested that frequency of intercultural dating has changed little in the past years. Although individual variables (gender, age) did not seem to be related, there were significant relationships between contextual variables and intercultural dating. That is, respondents who grew up in diverse neighborhoods, had diverse acquaintance and friendship networks, and whose family members also dated interculturally were most likely to engage in intercultural dating. The findings and conclusion emphasize the continued impact of historical and contemporary societal structures that inhibit meaningful intercultural contact.