Does Partnership Exogamy Increase the Risk of Separation? The Impact of Cultural Dissimilarity on Partnership Dissolutions in Sweden 1990-2005

In this paper the connection between exogamy and partnership dissolution is analyzed using individual level register data for natives and immigrants moving to Sweden after 1968. We study both formally married and cohabiting unions, from the birth of the first child until dissolution of the partnership. Using event history models we study the impact of type of union (endogamous, exogamous with a native, exogamous with another immigrant) and cultural dissimilarity between the spouses (based on country of origin specific information on value system and majority religion) on dissolution, controlling for standard human capital and demographic characteristics of the spouses. Our main hypotheses are that exogamy increases dissolution risks, and that this effect increases with a greater cultural dissimilarity between the spouses. The results have implications not only for our understanding of union dissolution but also for the societal integration of immigrants in Western societies, and the role of union formation and partner selection in this process