Dating out is intercultural

Abstract

Romantic relationships are situated within broader cultural and family contexts, and this may be particularly salient to those in intergroup relationships. This study examined variations in young adults' experiences with intercultural romantic relationships by ethnicity and immigrant generation. A sample of ethnically diverse young adults (N ¼ 628; Asian, Latino, and European background) reported on self and parent attitudes toward dating outside of one's own culture, own current dating status, and disapproval and conflict with parents over current and past dating status. Analyses revealed three key findings. First, intercultural relationships were evenly distributed across ethnic and immigrant generation groups. Second, participants of Asian background perceived greater attitudinal discrepancies with their parents toward intercultural dating than did participants of Latino and European background and were more likely to report intercultural dating conflict with their parents than Latino participants. Third, first-generation and secondgeneration participants were more likely to report intercultural dating conflict with parents than third-generation participants. Altogether, the findings show the importance of (a) incorporating culture into the conceptualization of intergroup relationships, particularly for ethnic minority and recent immigrant groups, and (b) considering the family context of

The Influence of Culture on Healthy Relationship Formation and Teen Dating Violence: A Qualitative Analysis of South Asian Female Youth Residing in the United States

“…A qualitative study of a diverse group of second-generation immigrants highlighted that some second-generation immigrant youth may disagree with their parents about when they can date and who they should marry, with parents generally favoring culturally similar partners (Nesteruk & Gramescu, 2012). Another study surveyed a diverse group of youth of Asian, Latino, and European ancestry and found that first- and second-generation youth were more likely than third-generation youth (defined by the authors as the child and parents born in the United States) to experience conflicts with their parents about dating (Shenhav, Campos, & Goldberg, 2017). Rani, Mitschke, Black, and Pearson (2019) explored the perspectives of Karen American youth (a refugee group from Burma) and highlighted how youth face challenges in dating related to intergenerational cultural differences in dating acceptability, which may play a role in how much youth are willing to talk with their parents about relationships.…”

Identity configurations and well‐being during normative cultural conflict: The roles of multiculturals’ conflict management strategies and academic stage

“…However, there are situations in which different cultural norms are at once activated, salient, and opposed to one another. Such normative cultural conflicts are typically encountered during major life decisions, such as when choosing a romantic partner or a career path (Lalonde & Gigu ere, 2008;Shenhav, Campos, & Goldberg, 2017). Such normative cultural conflicts are typically encountered during major life decisions, such as when choosing a romantic partner or a career path (Lalonde & Gigu ere, 2008;Shenhav, Campos, & Goldberg, 2017).…”

“…Conflict between the norms becomes inevitable (Gigu ere et al, 2010). Such normative cultural conflicts are typically encountered during major life decisions, such as when choosing a romantic partner or a career path (Lalonde & Gigu ere, 2008;Shenhav, Campos, & Goldberg, 2017). As these conflicts possibly involve being rejected from one's cultural ingroup, they can generate significant distress (Gigu ere et al, 2010).…”

Intermarriage and mother-child relationships

“…On the other hand, daughters' romantic relationships may be subject to greater scrutiny than sons' precisely because they are expected to be kin-keepers. In general, studies find that men report less disapproval from parents over interracial/ethnic dating than women (Park, Vo, & Tsung, 2009;Shenhav, Campos, & Goldberg, 2016). To summarize, it is possible that parents' reactions to partner choice may differ by offspring gender.…”