Mixed marriages in Switzerland: A test of the segmented assimilation hypothesis

Author(s) : Gina Potarca, Laura Bernardi

Source : https://doi.org/10.4054/DemRes.2018.38.48

Abstract:

Background: Switzerland hosts one of the largest and most diversified migrant populations in Europe, while currently reinforcing restrictive immigration policies. Knowledge on Swiss immigrant-native marriages, as ultimate signposts of integration, is limited.

Objective: We explore the role of origin group and birth cohort in the emergence and dissolution of mixed marriages in Switzerland among both natives and immigrants.

Methods: Based on a sample of 12,827 respondents from the 2013 Swiss Family and Generations Survey, we fit competing-risks models for entry into first marriage, and Cox proportional hazards models for entry into (first) divorce.

Results: We find evidence of a segmented marriage market, with migrants from neighbouring Western European countries having higher chances of getting and staying married to a Swiss native. As opposed to natives, migrants from younger cohorts are progressively less likely to intermarry.

Conclusions: In line with segmented assimilation claims, results suggest differences in integration pathways between immigrant groups. Findings also point to the reactive ethnicity of marginalized groups (e.g., Turks and ex-Yugoslavs) in response to an increasingly hostile immigration climate. Decreasing (inter)marriage with natives among young immigrants reflects shifting marriage market conditions over the last decades.

Keywords: cultural distance, divorce, immigrants, marriage, mixed marriage, segmented assimilation, Switzerland