INTERMAR

INTEGRATION OF INTERNATIONAL MARRIAGES: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM EUROPE AND NORTH AMERICA

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'Increased international migration had brought the integration of immigrants to the forefront of sociopolitical topics. Although the economic and political aspects of immigrant integration have been scrutinized, little is known about immigrants’ social interactions with the native population. Interethnic marriages have been posited as a factor that undermines racial barriers and, thus, contribute to the integration between immigrants and natives. The scant studies of divorced couples comprised of immigrants and natives found that mixed couples are more likely to divorce that homogeneous couples and explained this gap by individual and mainly cultural factors. Nevertheless, these studies were conducted in single countries and thus, they did not investigate the effect of environmental factors such as national integration models and immigration policies. This study aims to fill this gap in the literature by analyzing factors affecting the survival of international marriages (i.e., couples in which the spouses come from different countries) in Europe and North America. I will employ the concept of the ‘liability of foreignness’ to build a model in which micro (individual), meso (cultural) and macro (immigration policies) level factors interact to predict the differential rates of international marriage survival across immigrant groups and host countries of the Old and New Worlds. A set of empirical studies will be conducted in selected European and North American countries - such as Spain, Greece, Germany, Sweeden, Switzerland, Denmark, Norway, Canada and the United States - to test this model. The comparison between European and North American countries will allow me to analyze the potential effect of different immigration histories and policies on the integration between newcomers and local people. The selection of countries depends on data availability and differences in immigration policies and integration models in the Old and the New Worlds.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

Recent research showedmarriages in France between different nationalities and ethnicities are more likely to end up in divorcethan those between same nationalities (co-nationals) and ethnicities (co-ethnic). This is in contrast to the situation in the United States and Canada.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

Marriages between nationals of different countries and ethnicities (mixed marriages) are considered to be an indicator of integration. However, little research has been conducted on the marital stability of these couples, in contrast to those of co-nationals couples.

The EU-funded project 'Integration of international marriages: Empirical evidence from Europe and North America' (INTERMAR) sought to close this knowledge gap. Researchers compared divorce rates of mixed marriages to those of co-nationals and co-ethnic in Canada, France and the United States. They did so primarily through a survey distributed in the three countries, as well as through interviews with lawyers and divorcees of international unions.

Results showed that the divorce rates of international and interethnic couples in the United States and Canada are slightly lower than those of co-national and co-ethnic couples. However, the opposite was found in France, where international and interethnic marriages are more likely to result in divorce.

Project researchers found that religion and family and friends' perceptions of the marriage play a role in the success or failure of the marriage. Other key factors are age, marital history, employment, marital history of parents and child-bearing.

Interviews with divorced couples and divorce lawyers confirmed the marital challenges derived from cultural differences and societal pressure. However, they also revealed the role that employment and restrictive immigration laws had on the dissolution of a marriage.

Researchers argue that these differences in divorce rates may be explained by the challenges of migration, cultural differences as well as immigration and integration policies. Findings show more work must be done on the topic as mixed-marriage divorces impact the social, psychological and economic spheres of countries and their citizens.