Social Structural and Psychological Correlates of Interethnic Dating

Abstract

This study is designed to: (a) describe current interethnic dating behavior and related attitudes among southern Californians; and (b) examine social structural and psychological correlates of interethnic dating. Data were derived from a telephone survey conducted with a probability sample of African American, Latino and white residents of southern California. lnterethnic dating was reported by over half of all ethnic groups and both sexes and more frequently among men. Most reported that family members knew of their behavior and few families objected, although white women were most likely to report family criticism. Whites and Latinos who admitted to exclusions for intermarriage were most likely to exclude blacks, and black women and Latinas were most likely to exclude Asians. Logistic regression analyses indicated that interethnic dating was associated with being male, younger, having more education, being less lonely, the perception of having more mating opportunities and being African American or Latino rather than white. Within ethnic group analyses demonstrated that the loneliness finding was specific to African American women and Latino males, suggesting that dating outside of one's ethnic group was perhaps an adaptive behavior for these groups. It appears that one's particular location in the social structure as a function of age, education, sex and ethnic group may facilitate or discourage interethnic dating. Furthermore, mate availability considerations contribute to such decisions.