The Rates, Patterns and Reasons for Forming Heterosexual Interracial Dating Relationships among Asian Americans

Interracial relationships are a subject of intense popularity and controversy within the Asian American community. Asian Americans are the group with the highest interracial marriage rate in the nation, yet little is known about their dating practices. As one of the first empirical investigations of interracial dating rates among Asian Americans, this study seeks to examine the rates and patterns of interracial dating and to explain reasons for forming interracial unions. Based on a sample of 559 Asian and white students, the data suggest that studying dating patterns is an important step towards understanding and predicting intermarriage. Many similarities were found between marriage and dating patterns. However, in contrast to the out marriage literature, no sex differences were found in outdating rates and acculturation did not predict interracial dating. Propinquity was found to be the strongest predictor of interracial dating, while ethnic and sex differences in attractiveness were also important predictors.