McNair Research Journal - University of St. Thomas

Humanities & Social Sciences
Propinquity/Homophily
Propinquity is defined as the tendency for people to form relationships
with one another based on their proximity to one another, where as
homophily is defined as the tendency for people to form relationships
with others who are similar to themselves (Mouw & Entwisle, 2006). In
relation to interracial friendships, past research has uncovered that living
in an integrated neighborhood, attending an integrated school and living
in a metropolitan area influences one’s likelihood to engage in interracial
friendships (Antonio, 2004; Emerson, Kimbro & Yancey, 2002; Mouw &
Entwisle, 2006; Sigelman & Welch, 1993; Way & Chen, 2000). On the
other hand, additional research has uncovered that when students attend a
school where there is not a clear racial majority they are less likely to
befriend a person from a different racial or ethnic group, increasing the
likelihood of a racially homogenous groups of friends (Way & Chen, 2000).
In regards to interracial dating and marriage, past research has uncovered
near identical findings as interracial friendships. Suggesting that living in
an integrated neighborhood, attending an integrated school and living in
a metropolitan area influences one’s likelihood to date or marry someone
from a different racial group (Jacobson & Johnson, 2006; Yancey, 1998).
However, the findings for interracial dating and marriage are not as well
supported as the findings for interracial friendships. This discrepancy
may be due to the greater degree of commitment in dating and marriage
relationships.
As mentioned earlier, interracial marriages among Asian-Americans are
gradually declining while interethnic marriages are increasing (Lee &
Fernandez, 1998). This gradual shift may be attributed to the growing
population of Asian-Americans within the United States. In other words,
because of the growing populations of multiple Asian ethnic groups,
Asian-Americans are presented with a greater opportunity to find suitable
mates within their own race.
Socioeconomic Status (SES)/Educational Attainment
In terms of SES and educational attainment, previous studies have
uncovered that well-educated, high-SES respondents are likely to approve
of interracial marriages (Jacobson & Johnson, 2006; Yancey, 1998).
Specifically in relation to Asian-Americans, high-SES Asians are more
likely to date Whites when compared with their low-SES counterparts
who are more likely to date Hispanics and Blacks (Wang & Kao, 2007).
It is possible that high-SES Asians are able to afford to live in affluent
neighborhoods and send their children to private schools where there may
be limited racial and ethnic diversity.
Gender
Past research focusing on gender differences reveal that males not only
have a greater level of acceptance toward interracial romantic relationships
than females, but also are more likely to have dated someone from a
different racial background (Jacobson & Johnson, 2006; Yancey, 1998).
However, this finding fails to hold true for Asian-American men, possibly
because Asian-American parents are generally stricter when it comes to
dating, essentially creating a socially awkward situation for their sons since
men are the ones who generally initiate the majority of dates within the
U.S. mainstream society.
Age
Past research suggests that aging reduces the racial diversity of an
individual’s circle of friends while also reducing the frequency of interracial
romantic relationships. (Emerson, Kimbro & Yancey, 2002; Jacobson
& Johnson, 2006; Joyner & Kao, 2005; Yancey, 1998). One possible
explanation for this trend suggests that as people age, they make the transition
to adulthood by considering the prospect of marriage and in doing
so they may develop a preference toward intraracial marriage rather than
interracial marriage. Another possible explanation for this trend could be
University of St. Thomas McNair Research Journal
Amy S. Westmoreland
Interracial Romantic Relationships
based on the argument that many of the studies assessing age differences
were conducted over a decade ago, when interracial contact was generally
perceived as unacceptable. Based on this explanation, generational status
would serve as the predictor variable rather than age.
In sum, although previous research has paved the road for understanding
interracial relations, many studies focus exclusively on the black/white
paradigm. The present study will contribute to the current literature
by examining Asian-American attitudes towards interracial romantic
relationships. In addition, many studies assessing attitudes toward
interracial romantic relationships are predominately based on quantitative
methodologies. Therefore, in order to control for the limitations of past
studies, the present study will contribute to the existing literature by
incorporating qualitative methodologies based on a sample of Asian-
American respondents.
Conceptual Framework
The present study is centered on three theories, the first being Bonilla-
Silva’s stylistic components of color-blind racism (Bonilla-Silva, 2002).
Color-blind racism is also known as contemporary racism whereby people
claim to believe skin color should not be the basis of social judgment and
that discrimination on the basis of race is the problem of the past. When
color-blind racists are asked to engage in a conversation regarding race,
they often employ the following five stylistic techniques:
1.) White’s avoidance of direct racial language
2.) The central rhetorical strategies or “semantic moves” used by whites to
safely express their racial views
3.) The role of projection
4.) The role of diminutives
5.) How incursions into forbidden issues produce almost total
incoherence among many whites.
The second theory is Gordon W. Allport’s social contact hypothesis or
the notion that interaction between members of different racial groups
can lead to positive racial attitudes (Allport, 1954). The four specific
conditions under which interracial interaction should occur to result in a
positive outcome consist of the following (Allport, 1954):
1. Working towards common goals
2. Intergroup cooperation
3. Equal status
4. Authority support
The final theory included in the present study is the transracial adoption
paradox which is the tendency for family and friends to treat transracial
adoptees as if they were members of the dominant White society when in
reality they are racial/ethnic minorities (Lee, 2003).
Methodology Respondents
A total of eight respondents (two males, six females) ranging in age from
18 to 22 years old, = 19.6 years old have participated in the study.
Respondents were recruited from a medium size Catholic liberal arts
university consisting of over 6,000 undergraduate students with students
of color consisting of 10 percent of the overall undergraduate and
graduate student population.
Respondents participated in the study by responding to informational
signs in the undergraduate psychology department. Additional respondents
were recruited by creating a snowball effect with existing contacts.
As an incentive to participate in the study the respondent names were
entered in a random drawing for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate for
a local restaurant.
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