Immigrant Adaptation via Intermarriage: The Residential Concentration and Racial Identification of Multiracial Asian Americans, 1980-2000

Kristen K. Peterson, Brown University

The proposed research examines the linkage between residential concentration and the racial identification of children in multiracial families over time for two Asian-origin populations in the United States. Using Census data from 1980, 1990, and 2000, I separately identify interracially married Japanese and Chinese families through the race and ancestry variables. Using multinomial logistic regression, including characteristics of parents, children, and the surrounding community, I explore how the intermarried racially identify their children. I expect high levels of residential concentration to be predictive of an “Asian” identification. I also expect the co-variates of gender of Asian parent and location to strongly influence identification. By comparing the relationship between residential concentration and the racial-ethnic identification of multiracial children for two ethno-racial populations, I use theories of assimilation, human ecology, and racial formation to comment on the adaptation of Asian-origin groups to the U.S. at the end of the 20th century.