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Paul Boyle, Gereltuya Altankhuyag, Peteke Feijten, Zhiqiang Feng, Gillian Raab and Maarten van Ham, University of St Andrews and Lin Hattersley, General Register Office for Scotland
(Project no. 30092)
The primary purpose of the study is to answer the following questions:
1. Measure the growth of mixed-ethnic couples and their changing geographical distribution between 1991 and 2001.
2. Test whether living in a mixed-ethnic neighbourhood makes it more likely that people will end up in mixed-ethnic couples.
3. Test whether people in mixed-ethnic couples are more likely to move into mixed-ethnic neighbourhoods.
4. Test whether mixed-ethnic couples are more likely to dissolve than single-ethnic couples.
5. Test whether mixed-ethnic couples are less likely to dissolve if they live in mixed-ethnic neighbourhoods.
6. Test whether living in a less deprived neighbourhood makes it more likely that people will end up in mixed-ethnic couples.
7. Test whether people in mixed-ethnic couples are more likely to move into less deprived neighbourhoods.
The study of mixed-ethnic couples at the neighbourhood scale is not new, although most of this research has been conducted in the US. This topic builds on a long history of research on residential segregation, but extends this work to explore how mixed-ethnic couples contribute to changing ethnic geographies. For example, Holloway et al, 2005 in the US examined the factors which increased the likelihood of mixed-race households living in predominantly white neighbourhoods. They found that mixed-race households were more likely to live in diverse ethnic neighbourhood settings than single ethnicity households. Some research has also examined mixed-ethnic unions in the UK mainly using cross-sectional data from the 1991 Census 1% Household SAR or from the UK Labour Force Surveys (e.g. Ballard, 1997; Berrington, 1996; Burgess, Wilson and Lupton, 2004; Coleman, 2004; Data Management and Analysis Group Update, 2005; Holdsworth and Dale, 1997; Johnston, Poulsen and Forrest, 2006; Muttarak, 2004). The 1994 Fourth National Survey of Ethnic Minorities were also used to investigate mixed-ethnic unions (Muttarak, 2003). Comparing inter-ethnic unions in England and the US, Model and Fisher, 2002 indicate that there is a more hospitable environment for mixed-race partnering in Britain and greater levels of racial residential segregation in the US.
None of these previous studies have used longitudinal data to explore changing geographies of mixed-ethnic couples. In particular, previous cross-sectional studies could not demonstrate whether the high prevalence of mixed-ethnic couples in mixed-ethnic neighbourhoods was because people living in more diverse neighbourhoods were more likely to partner someone from a different ethnic group, or because mixed-ethnic couples are more likely to move into these areas. To explore this question, longitudinal data are required and this project aims to fill this gap by analysing the neighbourhood choice of mixed-ethnic couples using ONS LS data.
Ballard, R. 1997. Negotiating race and ethnicity: exploring the implications of the 1991 Census. Patterns of prejudice 30: 3 - 33.
Berrington, A. 1996. Marriage patterns and inter-ethnic unions. pp. 178 - 212. in David Coleman and John Salt, Ethnicity in the 1991 Census: demographic characteristics of the ethnic minority populations. HMSO.
Burgess, S, D Wilson, and R Lupton. "Parallel lives? Ethnic segregation in the playground and the neighbourhood"
Coleman, D. 2004. Partner choice and the growth of rthnic minority populations. Bevolking en Gezin 33: 7 - 34.
Data Management and Analysis Group Update. 2005. "Inter-ethnic unions," DMAG.
Holdsworth, C and A Dale. 1997. Issues in the analysis of ethnicity in the 1991 British census. Ethnic and racial studies 20: 160 - 180.
Holloway, S. R, M Ellis, R Wright, and M Hudson. 2005. Partnering 'Out' and fitting in: Residential segregation and the neighbourhood contexts of mixed-race households. Population, Space and Place 11: 299 - 324.
Johnston, R, M Poulsen, and J Forrest. 2006. Ethnic residential segregation and assimilation in British towns and cities: A comparison of those claiming single and dual ethnic identities. Migration letters 3: 11 - 30.
We have examined both the 1991 household SAR and the BHPS and have found that between 1% and 2% of couples live in mixed-ethnic unions in England and Wales. While a small group, it is growing in size and the LS is probably the best source for examining this given its large sample size.
The LS is also useful because it:
- covers a long time period;
- offers the possibility to assess change over time at both an individual and aggregate level;
- has data for non-LS members and their relationship to LS members which enables us to identify LS members' spouse/partner;
- has a large sample, which allows us to study the formation of mixed-ethnic unions at different time of points in different types of neighbourhood; and
- enables us to track back individuals of mixed-ethnic unions to identify their place of living before the union formation.