Ethnic identity and interethnic dating in Portuguese young adults

Forty undergraduate Rutgers-Newark students (21 women and 19 men) of Portuguese descent, aged 18 to 28, participated in a study on identity com-mitment and attitudes toward interethnic dating. High commitment to a Portuguese identity was associated with a collectivist orientation and with having a social network densely populated with Portuguese people. High personal concern with the ethnicity of one's dating partner was positively correlated with commitment to a Portuguese identity, and with having a social network densely populated with Portuguese people. High importance placed on parents' opinions about the ethnicity of dating and marriage partners was associated with a collectivist orientation. For women but not men, commitment was associated with high concern with one's partner's ethnicity. Results are discussed in terms of gender and the development of commitment to an ethnic identity.