Interracial relationships in the United States

Susan S. Lang:

In Joyner's study, Hispanics had the highest rate of interracial relationships: 45 percent of 18- to 19-year-olds and 33 percent of 24- to 25-year-olds were in interracial relationships in the early 2000s, compared with blacks (20 and 14 percent, respectively) and whites (16 and 12 percent, respectively). While Asians appear to be comparable to Hispanics in terms of rates of interracial involvement, age patterns for Asians were not presented in the study, Joyner said, because there were so few within some of the age groups in the surveys.

"In the analyses we did run, however, it looks like involvement in interracial relationships increases with age for Asians," said Joyner.

"Although interracial relationships were far more common in the early part of this decade than in the mid-1990s -- about five percentage points higher -- they still decline with age," said Joyner, noting that the fact that many young adults' transition to marriage is also a factor in the age decline. The rate of interracial marriage, however, is still relatively uncommon: in 2002, only 2.9 percent of all marriages were interracial, according to the U.S. Bureau of the Census.

In a 2003 study, Joyner had reported that adolescents in interracial romances were significantly less willing to reveal their relationship to family and close friends than those in same-race relationships, suggesting that such relationships still do not receive whole-hearted approval by society.

Interracial marriage gender gap grows

Is Love Colorblind?

On Interracial Marriage

The Myth Of Interracial Marriage