Latinos’ Perceptions of Interethnic Couples

Abstract

Numerous survey findings indicate that the majority of White Americans are accepting of interracial romantic relationships. However, relatively few studies have looked at how different American ethnic minority groups view such relationships. The current research examined Latinos’ evaluations of intraethnic and interethnic couples. Latino participants (N = 207) read information about either a Latina-Latino, Latina-White, or Latina-Black romantic couple. The results indicate that the Latina-Black couple was evaluated less positively than the Latina-White couple on relationship quality and less positively than the other two couples on perceptions of social support. Latino men were especially likely to express negative emotions toward the Latina-Black couple compared with Latina women. The results are discussed in the context of intergroup relationships.

Keywords

interethnic couples interracial relationships social perception prejudice

Over the past several decades, attitudes about interracial and interethnic relationships have become more positive. Today, most Americans oppose laws prohibiting interracial/interethnic¹ marriages (Schuman, Steeh, Bobo, & Krysan, 1998). Accompanying this increase in acceptance of interracial/interethnic relationships is an increase in the frequency of such relationships. According to a report by the Pew Research Center, using U.S. Census data, 14.6% of new marriages in the United States in 2008 were between individuals of different ethnic or racial groups (Taylor et al., 2010). This percentage represents the highest rate of interracial or interethnic marriage recorded to date. Despite the fact that nearly one in seven new marriages is interracial/interethnic, there still remains relatively little research on how such relationships are perceived by others. Furthermore, of the research on interracial/interethnic romantic relationships that does exist, much of it has focused on Black-White intermarriage, from the perspective of Black and White participants. The current research extends this previous research by examining Latinos’ perceptions of interethnic couples. Specifically, we examined how Latino Americans perceived either an intraethnic Latino, Latina-White, or Latina-Black couple. The goal of the current research was to understand Latinos’ perceptions of specific interethnic couples on different evaluative dimensions.

Although interracial/interethnic marriages have become more frequent, U.S. society has historically been less accepting of these relationships compared to same-race relationships (McNamara, Tempenis, & Walton, 1999). Until 1967, when the Supreme Court abolished antimiscegenation, or race-mixing laws, Black-White marriages were deemed illegal in several states (Loving v. Virginia, 1967). Although growing in frequency, the relatively small number of interethnic/interracial marriages may indicate that Americans across different racial or ethnic groups are uncomfortable with interracial relationships or hold latent racial bias outside of their conscious awareness (Amodio et al., 2004). Few studies have examined evaluations of specific interracial or interethnic couples; across those studies, most have found that such couples are perceived as less compatible compared to same-race couples (Bizman, 1987; Garcia & Rivera, 1999; Lewandowski & Jackson, 2001).

In a review of the literature, Gaines and Ickes (1997) identified a variety of scientific and lay misconceptions, or stereotypes, concerning interracial relationships. For example, observers of interracial relationships (i.e., “outsiders”) often believe that when partners in interracial couples experience interpersonal conflict, the issue at hand is likely to be race. However, interracial couples report that conflict is rarely related to race (Porterfield, 1978; Rosenblatt, Karis, & Powell, 1995). Outsiders might also have misconceptions about the relationship motivations of individuals within interracial/interethnic pairings despite research showing that partners in interracial/interethnic relationships typically state that they are attracted to each other for reasons similar to those mentioned by partners in intraracial relationships, such as love, similarity, and companionship (Rosenblatt et al., 1995; Wieling, 2003). This is not to imply that interracial/interethnic couples do not face obstacles within their relationships related to race, ethnicity, or culture. In interviews with a small number of Latino-White couples, Wieling found that none of the Latino partners reported fearing rejection of their White partner from friends and family members. However, their White partners reported different experiences. The majority of the White partners reported that friends and family had serious concerns about the interethnic nature of the relationship. This finding is consistent with other research that has found that White women are especially likely to report family criticism (Tucker & Mitchell-Kernan, 1995) and anticipate greater disapproval for dating men from lower-status racial groups (Miller, Olson, & Fazio, 2004). Despite the fact that outsiders’ perceptions of low social support for interracial/interethnic couples might be accurate, individuals’ perceptions of interracial/interethnic relationships are often based on false beliefs or stereotypes about such pairings. In the current research, our goal was to determine if Latino individuals have negative perceptions of interethnic couples compared to intraethnic couples.

Latinos are the largest and fastest growing minority group in the United States (U.S. Census, 2008), but they have only been accounted for in U.S. Census data for the past 30 years. Consequently, we have limited information about the current rates and patterns of interethnic marriage for Latinos. In an analysis of available Census data from 1970 through 2000, Lee and Edmonston (2005) found that approximately 14% of Latinos were married to someone outside of their ethnic group. Looking more closely at these couples, Latinos who marry outside of their racial group are more likely to be younger, born in the United States, and living in the Western United States. Unlike their Black or Asian counterparts, Latino men and women are nearly equally likely to marry someone outside of their ethnic group (Taylor et al., 2010).With the rapidly growing Latino population in the United States, it is likely that the number of Latino/non-Latino relationships will increase. Therefore, it is important to understand Latinos’ attitudes toward such relationships to better understand the social context and social experiences of such couples.

Previous research on interracial relationships suggests that evaluations of interracial relationships might be based on negative stereotypes about (a) the couple or (b) the racial group of the individuals within the romantic relationship. Once activated, stereotypes can influence subsequent information processing about a target (Kawakami & Dovidio, 2001). If one holds negative stereotypes about either an interethnic couple or the group membership of the individuals within the relationship, it is likely that evaluations of such couples will be influenced by those stereotypes. McClain et al. (2006) found that Latino immigrants held fairly strong negative stereotypes about Blacks. Furthermore, research has found that Latinos tend to hold positive stereotypes about Whites, viewing them as more competent than their own in-group (Jimeno-Ingrum, Berdahl, & Lucero-Wagoner, 2009). Given Latinos’ stereotypes of low- and high-status racial groups, how might such attitudes influence evaluations of Latina-White or Latina-Black interethnic couples? We predicted that Latinos’ negative stereotypes of Blacks would influence their evaluations of interethnic couples, with Latinos evaluating a Latina-Black couple less positively than a Latina-White couple.

In addition to differences in evaluations of interethnic couples by ethnic composition, participant sex might also influence couple evaluations. As Gaines and his colleagues have pointed out (Gaines & Ickes, 1997; Gaines & Leaver, 2002), interracial relationships represent a threat to the social structure in which White men hold the dominant position. Similarly, Latino men might see themselves as holding a dominant position within their cultural structure and Latina women dating outside of their ethnic group might be perceived as a threat to this structure. Scholars across different disciplines have examined the idea of machismo within Latino, Chicano, and Mexican American cultures. Although there is no universally accepted definition of this concept, machismo is generally described as a particular negative type of masculinity associated with family dominance, aggression, and sexism (Falicov, 2010). Men who score highly on measures of traditional machismo are more likely to have been arrested, to have been in fights, and to hold more traditional sex-role attitudes (Arciniega, Anderson, Tovar-Blank, & Tracey, 2008; Torres, Solberg, & Carlstrom, 2002). Latino men, in general, are also more likely than Latina women to hold more traditional sex-role attitudes, even when controlling for variables like acculturation (Gowan & Treviño, 1998). These more traditional sex-role attitudes might also translate into negative reactions to Latinas dating someone outside of her ethnic group—an action that could be seen as taboo, inappropriate, or a sign of female independence and autonomy. We predicted that Latino men would be more likely to report negative responses to interethnic couples compared to Latina women, because such pairings may be especially threatening to Latino men’s feelings of dominance and control.

The current research compared intraethnic Latino (Latina-Latino) couples to two different types of interethnic couples, Latina-White and Latina-Black couples. Previous research with White and Black participants has generally found that interracial couples are evaluated less positively than intraracial couples. Based on this research, one possible prediction is that Latina-Black and Latina-White couples would be evaluated less positively than an intraethnic Latino couple. Another possibility, however, is that the intraethnic Latino couple would be evaluated positively, as it is consisted of in-group members, and that the Latina-White couple would also be evaluated positively because of Latinos positive stereotypes about Whites. Therefore, we predicted that the Latina-Black couple would be evaluated less positively than either the Latino or Latina-White couple, consistent with the idea that Latinos hold negative stereotypes about Blacks. In addition to exploring differences in overall evaluations, perceptions of social support and positive and negative emotions toward the three couple types, we also predicted that Latino men might be more likely than Latina women to have negative evaluations of Latinas dating a White or Black man.

Method

Participants and Procedure

Participants were 207 undergraduate college students from a state university in Southern California who self-identified as either Latino(a), Hispanic, or Chicano(a). The median age of participants was 21 (M = 21.00, SD = 3.03, range = 18 to 32 years). The majority of participants were women (N = 146, 70.53%). Participants received research credit in exchange for their participation.

The study was described as examining individual differences in interpersonal perceptiveness. Participants were brought into a quiet classroom setting in groups of 5 to 20 people. They were each given a packet that included a description of a dating couple, the dependent measures, and demographic questions.

To manipulate racial composition of the couple, participants were given a brief description of a romantic heterosexual couple (see appendix). The woman in the couple was always described as a Latina (specific Latino group was not provided). The ethnicity/race of the male partner was manipulated as Latino American, European American, or African American.

Dependent Measures

Overall relationship quality and perceptions of social support

We assessed perceptions of relationship quality and social support of the couple from others using items developed specifically for this study, with participants responding to each item using a 7-point scale (1 = do not agree at all, 7 = agree completely). For relationship quality, participants were asked to indicate their level of agreement with five items: “They are an attractive couple,” “They intend to remain in their relationship,” “These couple members are compatible with one another,” “They are very committed to their relationship,” and “They seem to understand each other.” Internal consistency was high (α = .80). Higher values indicate more positive evaluations of relationship quality.

We used two items to measure perceptions of social support: “Others are likely to support their relationship” and “Others are likely to support them if their relationship becomes more serious.” Internal consistency was acceptable (α = .66). Higher values indicate perceptions of stronger social support.

Positive and negative emotions

Participants were also asked to report the degree to which they felt different positive and negative emotions when reading about the couple. On 5-point scales ranging from 1 (not at all) to 5 (extremely), participants indicated to what extent the couple made them feel (a) angry and annoyed (two items measuring negative emotions, α = .69) and (b) happy and joyful (two items measuring positive emotions, α = .84).

A final page in the questionnaire assessed basic demographic information, including age, sex, and ethnic identity.

Results

Table 1 contains bivariate correlations. As might be expected, positive emotions were significantly positively correlated with overall evaluations and perceptions of social support, while negative emotions were negatively correlated with these variables. In addition, positive and negative emotions were negatively correlated with one another, supporting the validity of these scales.

Table 1.

Intercorrelations Among Variables

	1	2	3	4
1. Overall evaluation	—
2. Social support	.51**	—
3. Positive emotions	.44**	.32**	—
4. Negative emotions	−.26**	−.20**	−.18**	—

Note: Higher scores indicate more positive overall evaluations, greater perceived social support for the couple, and stronger positive and negative emotions felt toward the couple.

p < .01.

We performed a series of one-way analyses of variance (ANOVAs) to examine the following hypothesis.

Hypothesis 1 (H1): The Latina-Black couple would be evaluated less positively than the Latino- and Latina-White couple on different evaluative dimensions.

There was a significant main effect of couple type on overall evaluations and social support. Consistent with our prediction, post hoc analyses (Tukey HSD) show that participants’ overall evaluations of the Latina-Black couple were significantly lower than ratings of the Latina-White couple (see Table 2). However, overall evaluations of the Latina-Black couple were not significantly different from the intraethnic Latino couple, which is not what we predicted. The difference in overall evaluations between Latino- and Latina-White couples was not statistically significant. Post hoc analyses of perceptions of social support demonstrate the Latina-Black couple was perceived as having significantly less social support than either the Latino- or Latina-White couple. The difference in social support between Latino- and Latina-White couples was not statistically significant. There was no effect of couple composition for either positive or negative emotions.

Hypothesis 2 (H2): Latino men (compared to Latina women) would be likely to evaluate the interethnic couples less positively than the Latina couple.

To test H2, we performed four separate ANOVAs to examine the main effects of couple composition, participant sex, and the Couple × Sex interaction on evaluations of relationship quality, social support, positive emotions, and negative emotions. There were no significant main effects of participant sex and no Couple × Sex interactions on overall evaluations, social support, or positive emotions. There was, however, a significant main effect of sex for negative emotions, with men more likely to express negative emotions toward the couple (M = 1.44) than women (M = 1.20), F (2, 201) = 6.57, p < .01. This main effect was qualified by a significant Couple × Sex interaction for negative emotions, F (2, 201) = 5.49, p < .01. For the Latino- and Latina-White couples, male and female participants expressed similar amounts of negative emotions. However, for the Latina-Black couple, men were more likely than women to express negative emotions, a finding that partially supports H2 (see Figure 1).

Table 2.

Means, Standard Deviations, and One-way ANOVAs for Dependent Measures by Couple Type

	Latina-Latino couple M (SD)	Latina-White couple M (SD)	Latina-Black couple M (SD)
	N = 74	N = 71	N = 62	F df = 2, 204
Overall evaluation	5.01 (1.06)_ab	5.21 (1.00)_a	4.70 (1.23)_b	3.66, p < .03
Social support	5.78 (0.97)_a	5.39 (1.11)_a	4.54 (1.59)_b	18.39, p < .001
Positive emotions	3.22 (1.14)_a	3.40 (1.11)_a	2.96 (1.29)_a	2.40, p > .09
Negative emotions	1.19 (0.57)_a	1.32 (0.67)_a	1.30 (0.66)_a	0.92, p > .40

Note: Within rows, means sharing the same subscript do not differ at p<.05.

Figure 1.

The interaction of couple type and participant sex on negative emotions.

Discussion

The current study examined Latino American young adults’ evaluations of and emotions toward interracial dating couples. The results partially supported our hypotheses. In support of H1, the Latina-Black couple was evaluated less positively than the Latina-White couple. However, the Latina-Black couple was not evaluated differently from the intraethnic Latino couple. Also, consistent with our prediction, the Latina-Black couple was perceived as having less social support than either the Latina-White couple or the Latino couple. Finally, in support of H2, there was an interaction between couple type and participant sex on negative emotions felt toward the couple. Latino men in our study were especially likely to report negative emotions when reading about a Latina American woman dating an African American man.

We did not find that interethnic couples were universally derogated compared to the intraethnic Latino couple. Instead, it appears from our results that Latino participants primarily derogated the Latina-Black couple. Latina-White couples were evaluated similarly to the intraethnic Latino couple in terms of overall evaluation and perceptions of social support. Latino Americans’ relationship to European Americans might explain the observed pattern of results. Specifically, Jimeno-Ingrum et al. (2009) found that Latinos had positive views of Whites—even more positive than views of their own in-group members. Although we did not directly measure stereotypes toward Whites and Blacks in the current study, it may be that Latinos’ positive stereotypes about Whites and negative stereotypes about Blacks influenced evaluations of the interethnic couples in the current study. To our knowledge, within the literature on Black-White interracial relationships, previous research has not found African American participants to have more positive evaluations of Black-White couples compared to intraracial Black couples. In fact, previous research suggests that African American women have more negative attitudes toward Black-White interracial relationships compared to their White counterparts (Paset & Taylor, 1991; Todd, McKinney, Harris, Chadderton, & Small, 1992). Our findings with Latino participants differ from research with Black participants, highlighting the importance of looking at the attitudes, thoughts, and behaviors of different ethnic and racial groups within the United States separately as opposed to simply lumping all ethnic minority participants together.

More generally, the history and context of Black-White intergroup relationships is different from Latino-White relationships. Latinos might be more likely than African Americans to idealize Whites and see themselves as more similar to Whites, while distancing themselves from Blacks (McClain et al., 2006). Therefore, Latinos’ views of Latina-White couples might be especially positive, as this might symbolize a Latina who has “made it,” a pattern of female social climbing referred to by Merton (1941) as hypergamy. Future research might examine Latinos’ stereotypes of Blacks and Whites to see if stereotypes might serve as a mediator in the relationship between couple type and evaluations. It might also be informative to examine evaluations of the characteristics of each individual within an interethnic romantic couple. The current research focused on evaluations of the couple’s relationship as a whole, but it is possible that negative evaluations or prejudice toward one member of the couple is driving negative relationship evaluations. Future research should explore this possibility by including questions about each couple member individually.

Latino men in our study reported feeling more negative emotions toward the Latina-Black couple compared to the intraethnic Latino- or Latina-White couple, a pattern that was not found for Latina women. The results indicate that Latino men were especially sensitive to in-group women dating devalued out-group members. Such relationships might be seen as a threat to the in-group—an in-group that is trying to attain a higher social status and one that sees itself as more similar to Whites (McClain et al., 2006). Given the influence of machismo within the Latino community, men might be more likely to view themselves as defenders or protectors of the in-group—a generalization of their role as protectors of their family. It is important to note that although the interaction between participant sex and couple type was significant for negative emotions, it was not significant for other dependent variables. This could indicate differences between Latino men and women in the degree to which their attitudes toward interethnic couples are affectively based versus cognitively based (see Fabrigar & Petty, 1999).

There were several limitations to the current study. First, the scenario methodology, although quite commonly used in the area of interracial/interethnic couple perception, does not fully capture the responses that individuals have to such couples in actual encounters. We provided very limited information about the couples and asked participants to evaluate them on a variety of dimensions, which participants may have found difficult. For example, the mean level of negative emotion expressed was quite low. Future research might want to explore different ways to present information about interethnic couples that might lead to stronger emotional responses. Another limitation with the study is that we only examined couples where the male partner’s race was manipulated—we did not examine evaluations of Latino men who date Black and White women. We chose to look only at Latina women to simplify our design and to keep the number of conditions in the study to a reasonable number. Future research should examine evaluations of men who marry outside of their ethnic group to see if the results we found in the current study replicate with such pairings.

The findings from this study have implications for intergroup relationships. Attitudes toward interracial relationships have been examined generally and found to be extremely positive among most people. Yet when examining the actual number of interracial/interethnic romantic relationships, it is clear that such unions are not as common as one might expect. This is especially evident in examining the infrequent, yet growing, number of Latino interethnic relationships. Interracial/interethnic relationships offer promise to society as one of the best ways to bridge race relationships and to lower levels of prejudice. In fact, at their best, interracial/interethnic relationships embody Allport’s (1954) four conditions necessary for reduction of prejudice: (a) equal status between the parties involved in the situation, (b) common goals, (c) no competition between the involved parties, and (d) authority sanction for the contact. Also, interracial/interethnic relationships demonstrate the additional condition of friendship, posited by Pettigrew (1998). Yet interracial/interethnic relationships are not widely entered in this society, so their potential benefits are yet unrealized. By examining perceptions of interethnic relationships, we might be able to address some of the barriers that prevent people of different ethnic and racial groups from entering into such unions.

Footnotes

Appendix

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Notes

Bios

Amber L. Garcia is an assistant professor of psychology at the College of Wooster, Wooster, Ohio, United States. She completed her graduate work at Claremont Graduate University (MA) and Purdue University (PhD). Her research interests include intergroup relationships, perceptions of romantic couples, and intergroup emotions.

Heidi R. Riggio is an associate professor of psychology at California State University (CSU), Los Angeles, California, United States. She completed her graduate work at CSU Fullerton (MA) and Claremont Graduate University (PhD). Her research interests include personal relationships (including adulthood family relationships), attitudes and attitude strength, political attitudes, and persuasion.

Subha Palavinelu earned her master’s degree at CSU, Los Angeles. She is currently a graduate student in Marriage & Family Therapy at Azusa Pacific University.

Lane Locher Culpepper earned her master’s degree at CSU, Los Angeles.

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