Marriage And Intermarriage Among Asian Americans: A

Marriage and Intermarriage Among Asian Americans:A Fact SheetAll Asian ethnic groups living in the U.S. have a greater than 60 percentmarriage rate.Definitionsmarriages of two Asian ethnicities may be referredWhat does the term “Asian” mean?is generally infrequent in Asian countries, Asians inAsian refers to individuals who have origins in Asia,the Far East, Southeast Asia or India.1 The sixmajor Asian American groups are Chinese, Filipino,Japanese, Korean, Asian Indian, Vietnamese, andCambodian/Hmong/Laotian.2 The Asian Americanpopulation is very diverse, coming from at least 16to as pan-Asian marriages. Although intermarriagethe U.S. have an intermarriage rate slightly greaterthan 25 percent. Of those who are intermarried, 92percent are married interracially and 8 percent aremarried interethnically.4Headlines/Trendsdifferent counties and speaking multiple languages.Marital ratesThe nomenclature used to categorize this diverseAll Asian ethnic groups living in the U.S. have agroup and the demographics of the Asian populationgreater than 60 percent marriage rate.5 Compared toin America have evolved in the last century, especiallyother racial groups, their marriage rate is most similarin the past decade. With the increased rate ofto that of non-Hispanic Whites.6intermarriage in the Asian population, the way mixedrace children define themselves may alter thesecategories. Thus, there could be variations amongthose who recognize themselves as Asian American.Intermarriage RatesAsians marrying non-Hispanic Whites comprise thegreatest proportion of intermarriages in the UnitedStates.7 8 Additionally, Asian/White intermarriagesThe Asian American population isvery diverse, coming from at least16 different countries and speakingmultiple languages.in the U.S. have increased in recent decades for allAsian ethnicities, and for both men and women, withIntermarriage refers to marriages involving twopeople with different racial (interracial) or ethnic(interethnic) affiliations.3 Racial affiliation is based onshared biological traits of a population; while ethnicaffiliation is based on common cultural, religiousor linguistic traits of a group of people. Interethnicwww.healthymarriageinfo.orgFS-3-09

the exception of Japanese women, whose rates ofother major racial/ethnic groups (Whites, Blacks,interracial marriages have been high since post-Hispanics and Native Americans). In addition, theirWorld War II.9 10level of poverty (22.5 percent) is much greater thanCurrent populationother Asian ethnicities (6.9 percent -16.7 percent),and is comparable to that of Hispanics/Latinos (21.4As of 2004, there were over 12 million reportedpercent).18 Of Asian ethnicities, Indians have theAsians (either Asian alone or in combination withhighest educational attainment, the highest ratesanother race) living in the U.S.,11 and it is anticipatedof being in the labor force (with mostly high-skillthat the Asian population will continue to grow.12occupations), and have the highest median personalincome. They also have the highest marital rates.19BackgroundRegardless of nativity, Asians have the highesteducational attainment level of all racial groupsliving in the U.S.17; however, there is a widevariation in socio-economic status among them.Marriage in AsiancultureAsian American cultures placegreat value on marriage asChinese are the largest Asian group in the U.S.,followed by Asian Indians and Filipinos.13 AsianAmericans who are of mixed heritage numberabout the same as Asian Indians - approximately1.4 million.14 More than 50 percent of the Asiansin the U.S. live in three states: California New Yorkand Texas. Los Angeles and New York City are thetwo cities with the largest Asian population.15 AsianAmericans represent over 40 percent of the totalpopulation in Hawaii.16 Language differences aredemonstrated by high rates ofmarriage. Asian cultural attitudes about marriagecenter on traditional family values, often encouraginggender-specific roles and a strong familial focuson children. Marriage is considered the means tobuilding families, and families are fundamentallyimportant to Asians. In most Asian cultures, a maritalrelationship is not solely a relationship betweenspouses, but involves the extended family as well.20Migration and immigration historynotable, as about 77 percent of the Asian Americanpopulation speaks a language other than English athome.The history of Asian immigration to the UnitedStates is complex. The first Asian immigrants to theAmericas – the Chinese – arrived in the United StatesSocioeconomic statusRegardless of nativity, Asians have the highesteducational attainment level of all racial groupsliving in the U.S.17; however, there is wide variationin socio-economic status among them. Accordingto 2000 Census data, Cambodians, Hmongs andLaotians have the lowest educational attainmentlevels compared to other Asian ethnic groups andwww.healthymarriageinfo.org(U.S.) in the 1850s. By the late 1800s, a growinganti-Asian movement resulted in anti-miscegenationlaws that prohibited Asians from marrying Whites andanti-immigration acts that prohibited Chinese womenfrom immigrating to the U.S. As a result, interracialmarriages all but halted until after World War II whenmany U.S. service men brought “war brides” homefrom China, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, andVietnam.21 The 1965 Immigration and NationalityFS-3-09

Act finally eliminated any restrictions on Asiantheir marital satisfaction. This type of information isimmigration based on gender, and as a result, warimportant for marriage educators, who place a greatbrides were able to sponsor the immigration of theirdeal of emphasis on certain measures of maritalfamily members, increasing the population of Asianssatisfactions (such as healthy communication which22in the U.S.has been shown to be valued by White AmericanThe politics of migration still continue to determine thecouples) as being the key to a good partnership.portion of each nationality that enters the U.S. ForStill, Asians who were born or primarily raised in theexample, professional qualifications are one of theU.S. may also experience stress due to conflictingallowable reasons for immigration to this country. Thecultural values from varying degrees of culturalVietnamese, Cambodian, Hmong, Laotian and Southidentification and assimilation. Issues may ariseAsian populations have been part of the most recentbetween couples when it comes to marital roles,waves of Asian immigration to the U.S. They havefamily roles and responsibility, parenting duties, andentered the country under a variety of circumstancesmethods of communication. Experiences of these- as refugees, educated professionals, students, or asrelationship issues may, in turn, affect how spousesa sponsored family.perceive the quality of their marriage.Interethnic UnionsYet other research offers a different perspective onRecent research comparing interethnic unions withsame-ethnic unions found that relationship qualityand relationship satisfaction were reportedly loweramong men and women who were married to or livingwith someone of a different ethnicity. Relationshipconflict was reportedly higherdifferences in marital or social values between foreignand native Asian couples. In one study, Asian Indiancouples in arranged marriages living in the U.S. ratedlove significantly higher in importance for marriagethan couples in arranged marriages in India andcouples in choice marriages in the U.S.24among interethnic couplesthan same-ethnic couples,and the perceived chanceof relationship dissolutionwas also significantly higher.More complex relationshipRelationship conflict was reportedly higher amonginterethnic couples than same-ethinic couples, andthe perceived chance of relationship dissolution wasalso significantly higher.histories (divorce, remarriageand serial cohabitations), greater differences incouple demographics (age, education or religion),fewer shared values, and less social support largelyaccount for these differences.23Cultural differences may create challenges forinterracial relationships, or even relationships inwhich nativity or acculturation may vary. Culture canhave a strong influence on how spouses measurewww.healthymarriageinfo.orgDifference by SubgroupVariations between Asian andAmerican cultural valuesAsian cultures value the family unit. Most researchdescribes the difference in Asian and Americanculture as a difference between collectivism andindividualism respectively.25 26 27 Specifically,American culture touts an individualistic attitude,FS-3-09

encouraging people to be independent and self-than foreign-born Asians to be involved in interracialidentified but responsible. Asian culture purportsor interethnic marriages.36 Marriages involvinga collectivist perspective, discouraging individualtwo Asians raised in the U.S. (born here or arriving28expression and encouraging inter-dependence.before the age of 13) make up only 20 percent ofOne recent study described the differences inall marriages in the U.S. involving Asians. Amongperspective between Western culture (specifically,Asians raised in the U.S., Filipino and Korean menAmerican) and Eastern/South Asian/Middle Eastern/and women are more likely to marry someone who isAfrican culture (specifically, Asian Indian) in maritalWhite rather than someone of their same ethnicity.37mate selection. In most Western cultures, mateselection is an individual, face-to-face choice,involving interpersonal attraction and love. Incontrast, in most Asian cultures, love is secondary,and marriage is a contract arranged and agreedupon by both families for their mutual benefit. Thisis, in part, due to the cultural norm for couples to helpsupport their elderly parents.Research has found that individualswho are more acculturated are morelikely to marry outside their ethnicgroup than those who are less so.38AcculturationVariation in intermarriage patternsamong Asian AmericansResearch has found that individuals who are moreThere are several variations in intermarriage patternsimmigration history, immigration status, and Englishamong Asians in the U.S. based on a number ofproficiency are factors that affect intermarriage ratesfactors, including their country of origin, their nativityof different Asian ethnic groups.39(foreign-born or native-born, and generational status),their immigration history, their acculturation status(e.g., English-language proficiency), their socioeconomic status (SES), and their gender.Country of originAccording to the 2006 Census, among all marriagesacculturated are more likely to marry outside theirethnic group than those who are less so.38 Therefore, Asian groups that have been in the U.S.longer, like the Japanese or Chinese, arelikely to be better assimilated into the larger(American) culture, and more likely tointermarry. The Vietnamese are one of the mostinvolving at least one Asian, the Vietnamese arerecent Asian subgroups to have arrived inthe most likely to marry someone of the samethe U.S. Almost all are foreign-born and30 31ethnicity.Overall, the Japanese are the most32 33likely to intermarry,and compared to otherAsian subgroups, the Japanese have the highestproportion (over 30 percent of their total population) ofinterethnic as well as interracial marriage.34 35NativityAsians born or raised in the U.S. are more likelywww.healthymarriageinfo.orghave low English proficiency rates, andgenerally experience the lowest rates ofintermarriage.40 41 Asian Americans who speak English fluentlyare more likely to intermarry, both interraciallyand interethnically.42 Even though Asian American men areFS-3-09