title: The residential segregation of mixed-nativity married couples.
abstract: This article examines the ways in which mixed-nativity marriage is related to spatial assimilation in metropolitan areas of the United States. Specifically, we examine the residential patterns of households with a mixed-nativity-and, in some cases, interracial-marriage to determine whether they are less segregated from the native-born than entirely foreign-born households. Using restricted-use data from the 2000 census, we find that compared with couples in which both spouses are foreign-born, mixed-nativity couples tend to be less segregated from various native-born racial and ethnic groups. Further, among both foreign-born Asians and Hispanics, those with a native-born non-Hispanic white spouse are considerably less segregated from native-born white households than from other foreign-born Asian and Hispanic households. We also find that even though nativity status matters for black couples in a manner consistent with assimilation theory, foreign-born and mixed-nativity black households still each display very high levels of segregation from all other native-born racial/ethnic groups, reaffirming the power of race in determining residential patterns. Overall, our findings provide moderate support for spatial assimilation theory and suggest that cross-nativity marriages often facilitate the residential integration of the foreign-born.
authors.affiliation: Sociology Department, Penn State University, University Park, PA, USA. jiceland@pop.psu.edu
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Iceland
authors.forename: Kyle Anne
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Nelson
mesh_terms: D000069:Acculturation; D004641:Emigration and Immigration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D044469:Racial Groups / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012111:Residence Characteristics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017062:Small-Area Analysis; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D018454:Spouses / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*