Relationship Involvement Among Young Adults: Are Asian American Men an Exceptional Case?

Abstract

Asian American men and women have been largely neglected in previous studies of romantic relationship formation and status. Using data from the first and fourth waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), we examine romantic and sexual involvement among young adults, most of who were between the ages of 25 to 32 (N=11,555). Drawing from explanations that focus on structural and cultural elements as well as racial hierarchies, we examine the factors that promote and impede involvement in romantic/sexual relationships. We use logistic regression to model current involvement of men and women separately and find, with the exception of Filipino men, Asian men are significantly less likely than white men to be currently involved with a romantic partner, even after controlling for a wide array of characteristics. Our results suggest that the racial hierarchy framework best explains lower likelihood of involvement among Asian American men.

Marriage‐Market Constraints and Mate‐Selection Behavior: Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Differences in Intermarriage

“…In stereotypical terms, Black men are perceived as sexually virile, but Black women are perceived as more aggressive and less feminine than White, Hispanic, or Asian women (Bany et al, ; Collins, ). By contrast, Asian men are stereotyped to be weak and unmasculine, whereas Asian women are deemed delicate and feminine (Balistreri, Joyner, & Kao, ). These perceptions likely hinder Black women's and Asian men's opportunities to form romantic unions across racial lines (Bany et al, ; Wang et al, ).…”

The Age of Independence, Revisited: Parents and Interracial Union Formation Across the Life Course

“…This led to an increase in the reported percentage of respondents in interracial relationships compared to the Census data, which only looks at those in married and cohabiting relationships (Qian and Lichter ), as well as small sample sizes for Asians, who are less likely to be in romantic relationships during these stages (Balistreri et al. ). Relative to the Census data of 2000, our Add Health sample was less racially and ethnically diverse for the age cohort (U.S. Census Bureau ).…”

“…Furthermore, parents may have greater control over their children's selection of marital partners than over partners in less formal unions, such as dating or cohabiting unions (Blackwell and Lichter 2000). Research on dating relationships suggests that some groups—Asian American men and black women—are less likely to be involved in any form of romantic or sexual relationship in young adulthood, though this appears to be less a function of parental control and more attributable to these groups’ placement in the racial and ethnic hierarchy of dating desirability (Balistreri, Joyner, and Kao ).…”

“…The Age of Independence, Revisited in the racial and ethnic hierarchy of dating desirability (Balistreri, Joyner, and Kao 2015).…”

“…We therefore find only limited support for Hypothesis 4. Our sample size for Asians in relationships is relatively small; this may indicate the selectiveness of these women, who are both willing to move and are engaged in relationships, when a sizable share of Asians is not engaged in a romantic relationship by emerging adulthood (Balistreri et al 2015).…”