Patterns, Determinants, and Implications of Intermarriage Among Arab Americans

Abstract

ࡗ Patterns, Determinants, and Implications of Intermarriage Among Arab Americans This study examines Arab American intermarriage using 1990 U.S. Census data. The results indicate high rates of intermarriage consistent with an assimilation perspective. Over 80% of U.S.-born Arabs had non-Arab spouses, implying a diminishing ethnic identification. Logistic regressions show that for both sexes, those with part Arab ancestry, the U.S. born, those with strong English-language ability, and the highly educated were significantly more likely to outmarry, as were Arabs of Lebanese ancestry. The cultural and structural assimilation of Arab Americans is facilitating intermarriage, with indicators of acculturation being the strongest predictors, especially for women. The article further discusses ethnic options for children of intermarried couples.The extent to which ethnic intermarriage occurs is widely accepted as an important indicator of assimilation and identification. In the United States, intermarriage is linked with the metaphor of the melting pot precisely because it erodes so-

Uniões binacionais entre espanhóis e brasileiros em Espanha

“…Apesar de os matrimónios mistos heterossexuais se manifestarem mais permissivos, não o são com os homossexuais (Hooghiemstra, 2003;Kulzycki e Lobo, 2002;Sherkat e Creek, 2010;Sherkat et al, 2011), para marcar o acontecimento como algo contra natura e antirreligioso.…”

Acculturation Process of Arab-Muslim Immigrants in the United States

“…According to Kulczycki and Arun (2002), "the extent to which ethnic intermarriage occurs is widely accepted as an important indicator of assimilation and identification" (202). Arab-Muslim immigrants are not excluded from this rule.…”

Ethnic intermarriage among immigrants in the Netherlands: An analysis of population data

“…At the individual level, it has been found that the likelihood of ethnic exogamy increases with immigrant generation (Lieberson and Waters, 1988;Lievens, 1998;Pagnini and Morgan, 1990;Qian, 1999;Stevens and Swicegood, 1987) and proWciency in the host language (Hwang et al, 1997;Tzeng, 2000). Systematic diVerences also have been reported with respect to age, sex, and other individual characteristics (Hwang et al, 1997;Stevens and Swicegood, 1987;Kulzycki and Lobo, 2002). Contextual characteristics are important for intermarriage as well.…”

“…While several studies have focused exclusively on the inXuence of individual characteristics on ethnic intermarriage (Kulzycki and Lobo, 2002;Qian and Lichter, 2001), other studies have been concerned primarily with the role of "structural" or "contextual" factors (Anderson and Seanz, 1994;Klein, 2001). In this article, we follow the work of a few other researchers (Hwang et al, 1994(Hwang et al, , 1997Lievens, 1998) who integrated individual and contextual approaches to ethnic intermarriage.…”