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“Ethnic Variations in Characteristics of First Unions” 181
groups within a society, which further transfer into different levels
of interracial marriage patterns (Gordon, 1964; Lieberson &
Waters, 1988; Qian, 1997). The investigation of this issue is
important in understanding the level of social integration into the
mainstream society between Asian subgroups, since interracial
marriage is indicative of social distance between minority groups
and the host society.
This study employs data from the National Longitudinal
Study of Adolescent
to Adult
Health (Add Health) to examine
ethnic variations in first union characteristics among recent cohorts
of Asian American young adults. The unique design of Add
Health
—
the oversampling of youths with Asian ancestry and the
complete union histories of all respondents between the ages of 25
to 32 in Wave 4 (2007-2008)
—
makes this investigation a feasible
plan. This paper aims to compare three Asian ethnic categories:
East Asian, Filipino, and South Asian Americans (which also
includes a very few respondents from Central Asia). The next
section will provide justifications for such an ethnic breakdown.
Three research questions will be addressed by this study: (1) Are
there ethnic variations in the likelihood of young adults who will
join a cohabiting or a marital union by Wave 4 among Asian
Americans? (2) Are there ethnic variations in the outcomes of first
cohabitation and the prevalence of a first marriage being preceded
by cohabitation? (3) Do the patterns of interracial partnering for
cohabitation and marriage vary by Asian subgroup? If so, which
group is more likely to partner with whites versus with other Asian
coethnics or other minority groups?
I. Prior Research
A. Asian Ethnic Diversity: Socioeconomic Profiles
and Cultural Values
The usage of a pan-ethnic, overarching label of “Asian
American” as a racial category masks the demographic diversity