Reversing the Lens: The Impact of Interracial Partnerships on Racial Centrality

• In Event: 30855 - What’s race got to do with it? Race and Intimate Relationships

Abstract

While research often examines how racial identity influences interracial partnerships, this study reverses the focus to explore how such partnerships affect racial centrality—defined as the importance of race to one’s identity. Using Social Identity Theory (SIT), Intergroup Contact Theory (ICT), and data from the Portraits of American Life Study (PALS), this study investigates three dimensions of racial centrality: awareness, prominence, and group identification. Results show that interracial partnerships are negatively associated with racial centrality, particularly group identification, suggesting that sustained interracial interaction may blur racial boundaries. However, the effects vary across racial groups, revealing the complexity of these relationships. While causal direction cannot be determined—whether partnerships alter racial centrality or pre-existing centrality influences partner choice—the findings highlight a reciprocal relationship worth future exploration. This study contributes to understanding how interracial partnerships affect racial centrality, offering new avenues for research on race and intimate relationships.

Author

• Michael Robert Gannon, Indiana University-Bloomington