Partner choice and timing of first marriage among the children of immigrants in Norway and Sweden

Abstract

Using population register data from Norway (n = 209,532) and Sweden (n = 592,491), this study addressed the relationship between partner choice and the timing of first marriage. We considered all migrant-background individuals born between 1972 and 1989 who were either native-born or who immigrated prior to age 18, relative to 10% random samples of the majority populations. The results demonstrate that marital timing patterns of migrant background individuals who married exogamously (that is, with a majority-background spouse or across their global region of origin) were more similar to the majority populations than among those who married endogamously (that is, with another migrant-background individual originating in the same global region). However, among immigrant-background individuals who endogamously married, there was evidence of a shift toward the Scandinavian pattern of later marriage across generations. Taken together the results provide an important starting point for investigations into the family life-courses and social position of children of immigrants in Europe, an increasingly large population subgroup currently entering family formation ages.