American researchers have found that people in romantic relationships with a partner of another race more often hold liberal political views than those who chose a partner of their own race. The work was published in The Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics.
The scientists analyzed data from the fourth wave of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), a large-scale project that began in 1994-1995 with students in grades 7-12 from 80 middle schools and 52 junior high schools in the United States. By the time the data were collected in 2008, participants were approximately 24 to 32 years old. The analysis included 12,603 people.
Political views were assessed with a single question: "Do you consider yourself very conservative, conservative, moderate, liberal or very liberal?" A relationship was considered interracial if the race of the current or most recent partner differed from the participant's race. The researchers also took into account race and ethnicity (white, black, Latino, Asian), sex, marital status, age and education.
About 15% of participants were in interracial relationships. Among them there were significantly fewer white people than among those who chose a partner of their own race (34% versus 74%), and more Latinos and Asians.
After adjustment for demographic characteristics, it turned out that people in interracial relationships had 37% higher odds of holding more liberal views than people in same-race relationships. However, this association manifested itself differently. It was weaker among Asians and Latinos than among white people, and weaker among married participants than among unmarried ones, but stronger among women than among men.
When factors were combined, it emerged that among married participants interracial relationships were more strongly associated with liberal views among black people and Asians than among white people. Combinations of race and sex produced no statistically significant differences. The authors suggest that some Asians and Latinos with conservative views may prefer partners from the white majority, and the pattern among married black people and Asians may reflect the choice of a partner with similar political views.
"Interracial relationships are a catalyst for major changes in race and ethnic relations and diversity in the United States, especially since children from such unions contribute to the boom in mixed races," the authors write. "As this demographic group grows, the political beliefs of mixed families will likely increasingly influence the policies, processes and representatives that shape racial and ethnic politics."
The study refines scientific understanding of the political views of people in interracial relationships. However, its design does not allow conclusions about cause-and-effect relationships. It remains unknown whether liberals more often begin relationships with a partner of another race, whether such a relationship makes a person more liberal, or whether both phenomena depend on third factors. In addition, the data were collected in 2008, before the presidency of Donald Trump, which, according to some researchers, changed the political views of men and women, so the results may not reflect the current picture. Political views were measured with a single question, and specific racial pairings (for example, Asian-white or black-Latino) were not studied.