Romantic Relationships among Immigrant Adolescents

Rosalind B. King, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Kathleen Mullan Harris, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Adolescent romantic relationships and the experience of adolescence among U.S. immigrants are both understudied. Research at the intersection of these two areas on romantic relationships among immigrant adolescents explains how culture, family, and peers shape the antecedents of permanent union formation. Romantic relationships in adolescence are important developmental steps along the way to marriage (see Furman, Brown, and Feiring 1999). Our data (National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health) enable us to study differences by immigrant generation within ethnic group background (Mexican, Cuban, Central and South American, Puerto Rican, Chinese, Filipino, Other Asian, African and Afro-Caribbean, and Canadian and European). We describe differentials in relationship patterns (i.e., partner similarity, physical involvement) by generational status and race/ethnicity. We then explore longitudinal effects of parent-child closeness and parental attitudes. We include contextual measures such as the immigrant/ethnic composition of the school and neighborhood, and friends' behaviors.