Contesting the Nexus between Intermarriage and Integration

• Author: Miguel Solana,Miranda J. Lubbers,Verónica de Miguel-Luken,Dan Rodríguez-García
• DOI: 10.1177/0002716215598136
• Date: 01 November 2015
• Published date: 01 November 2015
• Subject Matter: Section II: Intermarriage and Dimensions of Integration

ANNALS, AAPSS, 662, November 2015 223

DOI: 10.1177/0002716215598136

Contesting the

Nexus between

Intermarriage

and Integration:

Findings from a

Multi-

dimensional

Study in Spain

By

DAN RODRÍGUEZ-GARCÍA,

MIRANDA J. LUBBERS,

MIGUEL SOLANA,

and

VERÓNICA DE

MIGUEL-LUKEN

598136ANN The Annals of the American AcademyCONTESTING The Nexus Between Intermarriage and Integration

research-article2015

This article examines the nexus between intermarriage

and sociocultural dimensions of the integration of

immigrants in Spain. The data presented draw on

ninety-four in-depth interviews conducted with immi-

grants of seven different origins in exogamous (mixed)

and endogamous (same-origin) unions in Catalonia, the

region with the highest rate of immigration and ethno-

racial diversity in Spain. We apply a mixed-methods

approach, combining quantitative and qualitative analy-

ses. We find that the relationship between intermar-

riage and integration is complex and multidirectional:

intermarriage has a direct effect on some dimensions of

integration (e.g., the expansion and diversification of

personal/social networks) but has no relationship (e.g.,

for identification with the society of destination) or a

bidirectional relationship (e.g., for the learning of offi-

cial languages) for others. Furthermore, we find that

the outcomes are context-dependent and may be mod-

erated by factors such as country of origin or gender. In

sum, our results suggest a much more nuanced picture

of the nexus between intermarriage and integration

than has traditionally been theorized.

Keywords: immigration; intermarriage; integration;

assimilation; identity; Spain; mixed methods

Intermarriage has traditionally been consid-

ered to be the litmus test or “the last phase”

of immigrants’ integration into the mainstream

society. It is thought to facilitate or consolidate

Dan Rodríguez-García is an associate professor of

social and cultural anthropology and director of the

INMIX Research Group on Immigration, Mixedness,

and Social Cohesion at the Autonomous University of

Barcelona. His areas of research are international

migration, immigrant integration, interculturalism,

ethnicity, and intermarriage. His current research

focuses on identity processes of multiracial youth.

Miranda J. Lubbers is the Ramón y Cajal Senior

Researcher in the Department of Social and Cultural

Anthropology of the Autonomous University of

Barcelona and director of the Laboratory for Personal

Networks and Communities (egolab-GRAFO). Her

research interests include social network analysis,

migration, transnationalism, and social segregation.

224 THE ANNALS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY

settlement in the host society, legal status acquisition, interaction and expansion

of social networks, economic mobility, permeability of social boundaries and the

lessening of social distance, and the weakening of fixed ethnic identities and

racial and cultural prejudices (Merton 1941; Davis 1941; Gordon 1964; Alba and

Kessler 1979; Lieberson and Waters 1988; Pagnini and Morgan 1990; Kalmijn

1998; Qian and Lichter 2001). Some scholars, however, have questioned a direct

link between intermarriage and integration, emphasizing its complexity (e.g.,

Marcson 1950; Lievens 1999; Safi 2008; Rodríguez-García 2004, 2006, 2012a;

Song 2009; Song and Aspinall 2012; Collet 2012; Rodríguez-García et al. 2014a;

Miguel-Luken et al. 2015). For example, some have argued that intermarriage

does not presuppose the erosion or absence of prejudice toward other groups

(Bastide 1961; Daniel 2003; Okamura 2010), especially in social contexts that are

highly ethnically stratified. Furthermore, the association between intermarriage

and integration may be segmented, where intermarriage correlates with greater

integration for some groups but not for others. In this regard, Safi (2008) found

a positive relation between intermarrying and labor market incorporation for

most European groups, but either no relation (e.g., Tunisians) or a negative rela-

tion for other groups (e.g., Portuguese, Asians). Moreover, a group can be very

well integrated economically or educationally, but not socially or culturally (e.g.,

Chinese in the UK), or the other way around (Song 2009). Finally, some authors

have observed that endogamous (same-origin) coupling does not preclude immi-

grants from experiencing satisfactory integration (Lievens 1999; Rodríguez-

García 2004, 2012a; Collet 2012); other indicators of immigrant integration may,

in fact, be far more important.

In sum, the reality is that the link between mixed unions and immigrant inte-

gration is still unclear, and in many cases we are not sure whether “marital assimi-

lation” is a cause or consequence of immigrant integration, or even what is meant

by this concept. This article presents selected findings from a larger research

project1 on the nexus between mixed unions (i.e., marriages and common-law

relationships of foreign-born immigrants and native Spaniards) and sociocultural

integration conducted in Catalonia, Spain. As we explain in the next section,

Catalonia is an interesting case study. We take the standard conception of inte-

gration as the orientation of the immigrant person/group toward the society of

residence (in this case Catalonia, Spain)—with the aim of gaining full inclusion

Miguel Solana is an associate professor in the Department of Geography at the Autonomous

University of Barcelona. His research focuses on international migration, labor migration, and

sociodemographic changes in rural areas. His current research focuses on intermarriage and

young migrants and the use of qualitative methods in migration studies.

Verónica de Miguel-Luken is an associate lecturer in the Department of Sociology of the

University of Malaga. She has published in the fields of migration, youth, and social networks.

Currently, she is involved in some research projects on family, mobility (internal migration and

Spanish emigration), and intermarriage.

NOTE: This work was supported by grants from the Ministry of Science and Innovation of

Spain (grant number CSO2011-23242) and the Autonomous University of Barcelona (Aposta-

UAB 2011). We wish to thank Joanna Freedman for her very helpful and detailed editorial

feedback on the article.