Patterns of Interracial and Interethnic Marriages among Foreign-Born Asians in the United States

• Main Authors: Philip Yang, Maggie Bohm-Jordan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2018-09-01
• Series: Societies
• Subjects: intermarriage; interracial marriage; interethnic marriage; foreign-born Asians; assimilation; Asian American panethnicity
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/8/3/87

This study examines the patterns of interracial marriage and interethnic marriage among foreign-born Asians in the United States, using pooled data from the 2008–2012 American Community Surveys. Results show that the most dominant pattern of marriage among foreign-born Asians was still intra-ethnic marriage and that interracial marriage, especially with whites, rather than interethnic marriage among Asians, remained the dominant pattern of intermarriages. Out of all foreign-born Asian marriages, inter-Asian marriages stayed at only about 3%. Among all foreign-born Asian groups, Japanese were most likely to marry interracially and interethnically, while Asian Indians had the lowest rates of interracial marriage and interethnic marriage. Foreign-born Asian women were more likely to interracially marry, especially with whites, than foreign-born Asian men, but they were not much different from foreign-born Asian men in terms of their interethnic marriage rate. The findings have significant implications for intermarriage research, assimilation, and Asian American panethnicity.