This study describes and explains parental involvement in partner choice among Turkish and Moroccan immigrants in the Netherlands. It thus contributes to previous research on third-party influence on partner choice. The study provides quantitative findings on the actual extent of parental involvement in partner choice among immigrant groups compared with the native population in the Netherlands. Analysis of the data, which are from the large-scale Netherlands Longitudinal Life-Course Study, shows that parental involvement is modest among Turkish and Moroccan immigrants, but relatively high when compared with the levels of parental involvement found among the native Dutch. Furthermore, analyses reveal variation in parental involvement within the Turkish and Moroccan groups. Parental involvement is greater among children with lower-educated parents. But this effect is counteracted by a child's higher educational attainment and a later age on formalizing the union. Potential implications of parental involvement for endogamous partner choice are discussed.

This article examines the effect of composition of friendship networks during early adolescence on the likelihood of entering an interethnic union among the children of immigrants. We analyze the panel data from the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study that followed 14-year-olds into their early 20s. We extend previous research by simultaneously examining the effect of the social context and personal networks and by broadening the type of unions under consideration (i.e., dating and cohabiting unions in addition to marriage). In line with hypotheses regarding opportunities and preferences, we found, first, that having an ethnically diverse friendship network positively affects the likelihood of entering an interethnic union. Second, the effect of the friendship network is equally strong for dating, cohabitation, and marriage. Finally, the effect of the social context on interethnic partner choice is not mediated by the friendship network.

This study focuses on the partner choices of immigrant adolescents who are involved in a romantic relationship. We formulate hypotheses about the effect of immigrants' preferences, parental influence and structural effects of the school and neighbourhood on the likelihood of dating a native partner versus a non-native partner. Using unique data from the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Survey in Four European Countries (CILS4EU) which was conducted in over 100 schools in each country among adolescents of around 14-year-old and their parents (n = 1896), we show, first, that more conservative immigrant adolescents are less likely to date a native partner. In addition, parental influence is demonstrated by gender-specific effects of religious background and by positive effects of parents' social and structural integration. Meeting opportunities with natives at school and in the neighbourhood are prominent factors in explaining the choice of dating a native partner.