Levels Of Intermarriage Research Articles

Five Centuries of Settlement Dynamics and Mobility in the Northern Raja Ampat Islands of West Papua

ABSTRACT We explore changes to settlement and mobility in the northern Raja Ampat Islands (Waigeo, Gam, and Batanta) over the past five centuries, a time when speakers of several Austronesian languages were moving throughout the archipelago. The evidence shows: (1) some settlement relocations were rapid, occurring within a generation, while other settlements remained fixed for hundreds of years; and (2) there were numerous clan and family scale movements that led to high levels of intermarriage between language groups and settlements. The results demonstrate that far from being a place of stasis caught between the worlds of Maluku and New Guinea, Raja Ampat settlement and mobility were highly dynamic. This dynamism prompts us to rethink the relationship between today’s settlement locations, their language affiliations, and the meta-narratives about their recent population histories. We propose that the deeper past of Raja Ampat may have also been characterized by dynamic movement and social flux.

Breaking secular endogamy. The growth of intermarriage among the Gitanos/Calé of Spain (1900–2006)

ABSTRACT For over five centuries the Gitanos/Calé of Spain have shown a marked preference for marrying within their ethnocultural community. In the last decades, however, various Gitano groups have experienced a rise in intermarriage that is transforming their families, their identities and their interactions with mainstream society. This paper analyzes this historical transformation in an area of Andalusia that shows some of the highest concentrations of Romani people in Western Europe. Ethnographic and historical-demographic research allowed the reconstitution of 3,336 Gitano families formed from 1900 to 2006. Of these 421 (12,6%) were mixed. This rate increased to over 25% in the 2000s, and in some localities about half of the recent Gitano marriages were mixed. Three major findings emerge from this case study. Firstly, the local environment plays a key role in intermarriage. Local history generated different intercultural environments and relationships in adjacent municipalities, leading to diverse levels of intermarriage. Secondly, more Gitanas are marrying non-Gitano men than vice versa. Since 1990 Gitanas made 60% of all mixed unions. Thirdly, Gitanas in mixed marriages tend to marry later and to have fewer children than those in endogamous unions. Thus, these women may have been trailblazers in the fertility transitions of Gitano women. The paper hypothesizes that the incorporation of the Gitano/Calé people into the institutions of the Welfare State has favored interactions across ethnic boundaries, reduced social distance, and facilitated intermarriage. The upward mobility of some Gitano families may be turning socioeconomic and educational homogamy against ethnic endogamy.

One Quarter of the Nation: Immigration and the Transformation of America by Nancy Foner

Immigration is transforming America in a way that it had not for a century. The Immigration Restriction Act of 1921 put a ceiling on the overall number of immigrants allowed entry into the United States. The even tougher Immigration Act of 1924 followed, further diminishing the number of “undesirable” immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe. By that time, immigration from China and Japan had also been severely limited by laws passed in 1882 and 1907. The passage of the Hart-Celler Act in 1965, however, marked a momentous reversal of these policies by re-opening immigration to a broader number of countries. Since then, immigration to the United States from around the globe has surged. Today, one-quarter of the U.S. population consists of either immigrants or children of immigrants, and they are remaking the country. Such is the story told in One Quarter of the Nation.Drawing data from various census surveys and a synthesis of historical and social-science research on immigration, Foner’s central thesis is that “post-1965 immigration has been a prominent source of profound and far-reaching changes in this country’s institutions, altering the social, economic, cultural, and political landscape in many significant ways” (4). Hence, the book is divided into chapters on race, changing cities and communities, the economy, culture, and electoral politics.The first chapter describes the effect of immigration on the racial order. In 1960, 85 percent of Americans were white; by 2018, the share had shrunk to 60 percent. Foner charts the rapid rise of the Asian and Hispanic populations and their well-being today. Increasing diversity has also raised awareness of racial identity among whites, as reflected in the current discourse on “whiteness.” Foner notes the challenges in predicting the future of the racial order, especially with growing levels of intermarriage among all groups. One plausible outcome, in line with Alba’s argument, is the eventual decline in the importance of race.1 Another possible prospect is that blacks will face greater exclusion than people of other racial groups, reflecting the legacy of slavery and generations of oppression. In any case, Foner persuasively argues that immigration has irrevocably changed the racial order and the overwhelming demographic and social dominance of the white population.The following chapters are also insightful and informative. The chapter about changing cities and communities highlights how immigrants have revitalized many places threatened with economic and demographic decline. Immigrants have deeply impacted the economy as key players in big tech as well as in the service industry at every level. Immigrants are making important contributions to popular culture, including theater, dance, food, film, and music.The chapter about electoral politics is the least persuasive. A central argument is that the presidency of Donald Trump made anti-immigrant policies a central feature of Republican Party support and induced less-educated whites and those biased against racial and ethnic minorities to move from the Democratic to the Republican Party. As a result, minority voters have become a more critical part of the Democratic Party electorate. There is some truth to this, as less-educated whites have shifted to the Republican party, and the growing number of minority voters overall provides key support for Democrats. Foner, however, could have done more to differentiate between opposition to all immigration and illegal immigration, a key distinction made by many voters. In addition, working-class voters of all races are, at least to some degree, changing their party alliances from the Democratic to Republican party. As Teixeira argued, “[S]ince 2012, nonwhite working class voters have shifted away from the Democrats by 18 margin points, with a particularly sharp shift in the last election and particularly among Hispanics.”2 This observation suggests that electoral realignments are being driven by more than just anti-immigrant and anti-minority animus, a point that Foner acknowledges but underplays.Any quibbles with the electoral-politics chapter aside, one of the book’s strengths is its strong command of history. Many contemporary public commentators on immigration are unaware that the issues and challenges that the United States faces today are similar to those of the past. For instance, worries about how immigration will change the character of communities or the racial and ethnic composition of the country have been evident since the country’s founding. Yet, Foner points out the ways in which the current context also differs from that of the past, such as the growing multiculturalism and support for bilingual education, which were not widespread a century ago.Overall, this well-written and highly accessible book is a valuable contribution to the scholarship on immigration. Its deep historical standpoint and its impressive synthesis of research on current patterns and trends provides an insightful analysis of how immigration is transforming America.

Assimilation and ethnic marriage squeeze in early 20th century America: A gender perspective.

BACKGROUNDDuring the 19th and early 20th centuries, large waves of international immigrants, often heterogeneous in terms of age and sex structure, arrived in the United States. Within a relatively short time, many of these immigrants were assimilated. While prior studies have identified an impact of the marriage squeeze on intermarriage, the role of gender is less known.METHODSWe use data from the 1930 census to examine the role played by variation in the sex ratios of the six largest immigrant groups at the beginning of the 20th century on marital outcomes by sex.RESULTSOur analyses show that the probability of marrying outside one’s ethnic group in this period is strongly tied to local ethnic sex ratios. Marital outcomes are affected for both sexes, but sex ratios are found to be more influential on males marrying out of their ethnic group. While a surplus of one’s own sex increases the probability of exogamy for males, it is likely to increase the probability of being single for females.CONTRIBUTIONOur findings highlight the importance of ethnic sex ratios in local marriage markets at a critical juncture of American immigration and its consequences. We focus on an understudied aspect of this process: gender differences in the association between sex ratios and marital assimilation. We show that marital decisions differed by sex and that the high levels of intermarriage in this period are more likely to be explained by unbalanced sex ratios for males than for females.

Understanding the Spatial Trajectories of Minority Groups: An Approach that Examines their Demographic, Cultural and Socio-economic Characteristics

Population researchers have contributed to the debate on minority group distribution and disadvantage and social cohesion by providing objective analysis. A plethora of new distribution measurement techniques have been presented in recent years, but they have not provided sufficient explanatory power of underlying trajectories to inform ongoing political debate. Indeed, a focus on trying to summarise complex situations with readily understood measures may be misplaced. This paper takes an alternative approach and asks whether a more detailed analysis of individual and environmental characteristics is necessary if researchers are to continue to provide worthwhile input to policy development. Using England and Wales as a test bed, it looks at four small sub-populations (circa 250,000 at the turn of the century) – two based on ethnic grouping: Bangladeshi and Chinese; and two based on an under-researched area of cultural background, religion: Jews and Sikhs. Despite major differences in longevity of presence in the UK, age profile, socio-economic progress, and levels of inter-marriage, there are, at a national level, parallels in the distribution patterns and trajectories for three of the groups. However, heterogeneity between and within the groups mean that at a local level, these similarities are confounded. The paper concludes that complex interactions between natural change and migration, and between suburbanisation and a desire for group congregation, mean that explanations for the trajectory of distribution require examination of data at a detailed level, beyond the scope of index-based methods. Such analyses are necessary if researchers are to effectively contribute to future policy development.

Hukou Locality and Intermarriages in Two Chinese Cities: Shanghai and Shenzhen

China’s household registration system (hukou) has created an institutional boundary for the social integration of migrants, but few studies have explored if hukou barriers vary by city. We investigate the value of hukou locality in Shanghai and Shenzhen by comparing their patterns of intermarriage between locals and migrants. We hypothesize that levels of intermarriage reflect the rigidity of the hukou barrier—the likelihood of intermarriage is lower and tradeoffs for local hukou are higher if one city has more stringent hukou policies than the other. Using data from the 2005 mini-census, we find support for our hypothesis. Shanghai, in which internal migrants in China find it most difficult to secure local hukou, exhibits lower levels of intermarriage and lower levels of hukou locality–education exchange between locals and migrants compared to Shenzhen. The findings suggest that the decentralization of China’s hukou system and subsequent varying hukou policies have made hukou locality an increasingly salient factor in shaping migrants’ integration and social inequaltiy.

Intermarriage by birthplace and ancestry in Australia

Sociologists have long regarded intermarriage as a key indicator of ethnic integration. The authors analyse marriage data from the 2006 Australian census. They find that many ethnic groups show low levels of intermarriage in the first generation but that, by the third generation, rates of intermarriage are high. However most groups of migrants from South and East Asia and from the Middle East and Africa have not been in Australia long enough for us to know whether the relationship between length of time in Australia and integration will hold for them as it has for the earlier cohorts of European migrants.

Inter-regional Migration and Intermarriage among Kurds in Turkey

IntroductionThis paper focuses on internal migration and intermarriage patterns between Kurds and non-Kurds who moved between regions of Turkey in the last four decades of the 20th century. We aim to assess the spatial and consanguinal boundaries between Kurds and Turks in recent history. Kalmijn (1998) argued that intermarriage is an indication of interaction across group boundaries in that members of different groups accept each other as equals while more recent studies also claim that intermarriage is a sign of boundary blurring (Black, 2013; Horowitz, 2015). Studies as early as Drachsler (1921) or Gordon (1964) have viewed intermarriage as an indication of assimilation while Smits (2010) in his recent review argues that relatively low levels of intermarriage might be a warning sign of violent conflict and/or future separation. Conversely, relatively higher levels of intermarriage might indicate the continuation of a peaceful coexistence or a non-violent secession.Due to an evident language shift and widespread bilingualism among Kurds in Turkey (Polat & Schallert, 2013; O'Driscoll, 2014; Zeyneloglu et al., 2015; Zeyneloglu et al., 2014) we have introduced, for the first time, birth-region (re: territorial association) as a measure of ethnic origin instead of language as overt questions on ethnic identity or ethnic origin are absent in Turkish censuses and surveys. Our hypothesis is that in a universalistic setting intermarriage of both the minority (Kurds) as well as the majority group (Turks) to each other will correlate with education in line with modernization theory. We refute earlier claims of Gunduz-Hosgor and Smits (2002) who had concluded that the Turkish-Kurdish intermarriage pattern rather fits exchange theory since neither the dataset (TDHS-Turkish Demography and Health Survey) nor the ethnicity marker (mother tongue) used in that study are suitable for the analysis of intermarriage as is elaborated in the following sections.The paper is organised as follows: We first introduce the concept of universalism (as opposed to particularism or differentialism) and discuss why and how Kurdish individuals may switch to Turkish identity. We, then discuss the shortcomings of using language as a proxy for ethnicity in the Turkish context drawing on an analysis of the 2003 TDHS data demonstrating language shift among the Kurds. Data and methods are described in the fourth section before general trends of homogamy and in-marriage at the national level are examined. Following the conceptual framework and the context, we discuss the relationships between inter-regional migration, education and intermarriage among Turkey's Kurds and Turks. We conclude with recommendations.1. Birth region versus ethnic identity in a universalistic environmentIn his seminal work on the ethnic origins of nations, Smith (1986) observed that some ethnic groups were able to vastly extend in size and territory by incorporating other groups though rather with fluid boundaries, while some other ethnie have established sharper cultural markers and physical boundaries between them and the outside world, albeit in much smaller or even peripheral geographies. He labelled this dichotomy as 'lateral' versus 'vertical' (Smith, 1986, pp. 76-79). While his observations on the lateral versus vertical dichotomy seem precise, his arguments about its reasons remain case-based, are not exhaustive, and contain transitions of the same ethnie between the two main categories, thus straining the initial theory (1986, pp. 82-98, 105-119).Todd (1985), on the other hand, suggested a bijective link between the anthropological family type prevalent in a region or a nation and its political structure. The concept of equality in Todd's work is similar to the lateral/vertical dichotomy of Smith. Todd (1985, pp. 7, 28, 55-65) argues that groups where parents treat all brothers as equal and the inheritance is shared equally between the brothers as a sign of this equality have a tendency to assimilate subjugated ethnie. …

Changing Ethnic and Racial Diversity in the United States: A Review Essay

Changing Ethnic and Racial Diversity in the United States: A Review Essay

Puerto Rican Intergroup Marriage and Residential Segregation in the U.S.: A Multilevel Analysis of Structural, Cultural, and Economic Factors

This study examines intermarriage patterns of Puerto Ricans who reside in the United States (referred to as stateside Puerto Ricans) and discusses the implications of these patterns for practice with this community. Because Puerto Ricans experience higher levels of intermarriage than other Latino groups, an analysis of out-marriage factors for Puerto Ricans yields important considerations for the future of Latino integration within U.S. society.

Ethnic intermarriage in times of social change: The case of latvia

We gain insight into the dynamics of ethnic intermarriage in times of social change by studying marriages between Latvians and Russians (including Belarussians and Ukrainians) that occurred in Latvia before and after independence from the Soviet Union. Before independence, ethnic intermarriage was already rather common, involving about 17% of the marriages annually. Since independence, intermarriage between Russians and Latvians has increased substantially. Part of this increase can be explained by selective emigration, but at least half of it may be due to integrative processes. Although there were more marriages between Russian men and Latvian women before independence, the gender pattern reversed after independence. Intermarriage levels were the highest among the less educated, children of mixed couples, partners with similar educational levels, and people in the countryside.

Ties on the fringes of identity

I use data on part-American Indian children in the 1990 Census 5% PUMS to assess my hypotheses that thick racial ties within the family constrain racial identification, and that structural aspects of the community (group size, inequality, and racial heterogeneity) affect racial identification when racial ties are thin within the family. American Indians present an interesting case study because their high levels of intermarriage and complex patterns of assimilation/identity retention for generations provide a varied group of people who could potentially identify their race as American Indian. Several hypotheses are supported by the data, signifying that racial identification among people with mixed-heritage is affected by the social world beyond individual psychology and racial ties within the family.

Social closure among the higher educated: trends in educational homogamy in 55 countries

Loglinear analysis is used to assess for 55 countries—and for two age groups within these countries—the degree of educational homogamy with regard to a specific boundary in the educational structure, which separates persons with a relatively high educational level from the rest of the population. The aim of the research is to gain insight in the factors that affect the degree of openness or closure of the group of persons with a high educational level. In all 55 countries, the tendency to marry across the selected boundary is restricted. However, there are rather large differences among the countries in this respect. In more modern countries, Protestant countries, and countries in which the group of higher educated is larger (and hence less exclusive), the boundary is found to be more open than in other countries. In most countries, intermarriage levels are higher among younger couples than among older couples. This trend towards more openness is stronger in more rapidly developing countries and in countries where the group of higher educated is smaller.

Race and social distance: intermarriage with non-Latino Whites

Using 1990 census data, I examine variations in interracial marriage with non-Latino Whites among native- and foreign-born African Americans, Latinos, and Asian Americans. I further classify Latinos by race and national origin and Asian Americans by national origin. For each minority group, the native-born are much more likely to marry non-Latino Whites than the foreign-born. Interracial marriage with non-Latino Whites differ significantly by minority group: Latino Whites are most likely to marry non-Latino Whites, followed by Asian Americans, Latino non-Whites, and then African Americans. This suggests that race relations are no longer simply White and non-White. Skin tone of non-Whites plays a significant role in variations in intermarriage. Fair skinned minorities are more likely to marry Whites than darker skinned minorities. Skin tone, however, does not explain why persons of one Asian or Latino group have higher levels of intermarriage than those of another Asian or Latino group. To understand Latino and Asian American diversity, we need to take into account cultural differences in countries of origin as well as their divergent experiences in American society.

Measuring acceptance? - Intermarriage levels as an indicator of tolerance in the Finnish context of integration

Beyond surveys on racist prejudices there are always underlying assumptions about what are the worsening factors of rejection. The influence of these presuppositions on interpreting the results only comes up when an alternative approach is introduced. lt would seem that national traditions do have a role to play in this: the Anglo-Saxon approach of the Chicago School is marked by pragmatic interests on the mechanisms of rejection by racist motives. Especially the negative image of a Black person occupies a central methodological role. Elsewhere, within the Durkheimian tradition of French sociology; neither "race '' nor "ethnicity" has been accepted as the basic constructive unit of society. In other words, the ultimate source of social cohesion - and exciusion - cannot be reduced to an issue of "ethnic relations ". Therefore it is not enough to fix ones interest on measuring negative ''ethnic attitudes" and rejection without paying attention to the coexisting mechanisms of inclusion. The approach briefly introduced in this article stems from the Durkheimian tradition of sociology and anthropology of viewing the integration of immigrants as a gradual process towards assimilation or isolation, eventually segregation. The Durkheimian preference on assimilation is not understood within the Anglo-Saxon tradition of research which gives priority to respecting ethnic differences. As a new recipient country of immigrants from the Third World, Finland pro vides an example where the prospects of integration of immigrants at times show contradictory tendencies depending on what is examined: integration to the labour market may be difficult but there seems to exist no equivalent obstacle in Finnish attitudes towards intermarriage. The prospects of integration of stigmatised minorities is therefore also a matter of an ideological perspective.

Kinship networks that cross racial lines: The exception or the rule?

I estimate the frequencies of interracial kin relations, an important indicator of the isolation of racial groups in the United States. I use two techniques to estimate the size and heterogeneity of extended families. First, I develop a simple model that takes account only of kinship network sizes and intermarriage levels by race. This model allows a crude estimation of the frequency of multiracial kinship networks. Second, I produce more precise empirical estimates using a new hot-deck imputation method for synthesizing kinship networks from household-level survey data (the June 1990 Current Population Survey and the 1994 General Social Survey). One in seven whites, one in three blacks, four in five Asians, and more than 19 in 20 American Indians are closely related to someone of a different racial group. Despite an intermarriage rate of about 1%, about 20% of Americans count someone from a different racial group among their kin.

Religious intermarriage in Switzerland, 1969-72 and 1979-82.

"Patterns of marriage between Protestants and Roman Catholics in Switzerland during 1969-72 and 1979-82 are investigated using magnitudes of marriage attraction, measures that reflect the propensity to marry independent of population composition. The results show high levels of intermarriage, with religious differences becoming less salient in marriage choice. There is no evidence that the propensity to intermarry is influenced by 'minority group' effects." (SUMMARY IN FRE)