Bibliographic Details
| Title: |
Declining Racial Stratification in Marriage Choices? Trends in Black/White Status Exchange in the U.S. 1980-2010 |
| Language: |
English |
| Authors: |
Florencia Torche, Peter Rich |
| Source: |
Grantee Submission. 2017. |
| Peer Reviewed: |
Y |
| Page Count: |
49 |
| Publication Date: |
2017 |
| Sponsoring Agency: |
Institute of Education Sciences (ED) |
| Contract Number: |
R305B140037 |
| Document Type: |
Reports - Evaluative |
| Descriptors: |
Marriage, Race, African Americans, Whites, Gender Differences, Social Status, Educational Attainment, Interpersonal Relationship, Incidence |
| DOI: |
10.1177/2332649216648464 |
| Abstract: |
The status exchange hypothesis suggests that partners in black/white marriages in the U.S. trade racial for educational status, indicating strong hierarchical barriers between racial groups. We examine trends in status exchange in black/white marriages and cohabitations between 1980 and 2010, a period over which these unions have increased from 0.3 percent to 1.5 percent of all young couples. We find that status exchange between black men and white women has not declined among either marriages or cohabitations, even as interracial unions have become more prevalent. We also distinguish two factors driving exchange: 1) the growing probability of marrying a white person as educational attainment increases for both blacks and whites (educational boundaries), and 2) a direct trade of race-by-education between partners (dyadic exchange). While the theoretical interpretation of exchange has focused on the latter factor, we show that status exchange largely emerges from the former. [This paper was published in "Sociology of Race and Ethnicity" 2017.] |
| Abstractor: |
As Provided |
| IES Funded: |
Yes |
| Entry Date: |
2024 |
| Accession Number: |
ED652115 |
| Database: |
ERIC |
