For better or for worse mental health? The role of family networks in exogamous unions

Abstract

This study tests whether being in an exogamous union affects older individual's family networks, and whether associations between exogamy and mental health reported in previous studies operate through changes in family ties and differ by gender. We focus on individuals aged 60 or above in the German Socio‐Economic Panel Study between 2002 and 2016. We describe demographic and family characteristics of individuals in different types of union and estimate correlated random effects models on the changes of mental health. Exogamous immigrants have larger family networks than endogamous immigrants due to a higher chance of having in‐laws nearby, while exogamous natives have smaller family networks than their endogamous counterparts. Native women in a union with immigrants exhibit worse mental health than endogamous native women, and the same disadvantage is held by immigrant men partnered with native women. Family networks influence mental health but contribute little to observed differences.

Is it Better to Intermarry? Immigration Background of Married Couples and Suicide Risk Among Native-Born and Migrant Persons in Sweden

“…Intermarriages that are characterized by conflict and instability may take a toll on well-being, as suggested by research showing that cultural conflict increased depressive symptoms among both spouses in Turkish-British marital dyads (Baltas & Steptoe, 2000). At least one prior study supports the hypothesis that intermarriage predicts poorer mental health than intramarriage, indicating that both partners in intermarriages between native German women and immigrant men had worse mental health than intramarried native-born persons of their gender (Eibich & Liu, 2021).…”

“…At the same time, investigators find that intermarriages are less stable than intramarriages owing in part to strains that include familial cultural conflict, experiences with discrimination, and reduced marital quality (Dribe & Lundh, 2012;Kalmijn et al, 2005). Despite increased interest in the social and health implications of inter-and intra-marriages, studies exploring whether it is more beneficial for mental health to marry someone of the same or a different ethnicity are scarce (Eibich & Liu, 2021;Milewski & Gawron, 2019).…”

International migration and its short‐term effect on partnership stability

“…Twenge et al, 2003), migration may either stabilize or destabilize partnerships via its effect on fertility. Turning to the next aspect, social networks are positively related to mental health (Eibich & Liu, 2021), and mental health problems have been found to interact negatively with partnership stability (McNulty, 2015; Percheski & Meyer, 2018). Thereby, having strong and supportive social networks is potentially beneficial to partnership stability.…”

“…Considering the direction of migration, differences in the effect of social networks appear plausible given that remigrants are more likely to access previously existing social networks again. Thinking of, for example, a couple moving to one partner's previous place of residence, however, these social networks are not necessarily helpful to both partners to the same extent (see e.g., discussion in Eibich & Liu, 2021 on how to conceptualize family networks). Having one partner with a strong supportive social network while the other does not have such a network might also put a strain on partnerships.…”

Immigrants’ Life Satisfaction in Intermarriages with Natives: A Family Life Course Perspective

“…Research on the role of intermarriages in immigrant well-being is rare, and interest in this topic has only recently started to increase (e.g., Bratter and Eschbach 2006; Chang 2016; Milewski and Gawron 2019). Existing studies on the topic have primarily investigated mental health for different multi-ethnic societies (Bratter and Eschbach 2006; Milewski and Gawron 2019; Eibich and Liu 2021). While Bratter and Eschbach’s study (2006) was conducted in the United States and focused on race, research in Western Europe rather concentrates on differences between immigrants and natives (e.g., Milewski and Gawron 2019; Eibich and Liu 2021).…”