4 Keys to Building a Successful Intercultural Marriage and Family

Researching synthesizing 30 years of data provides guidance for couples in mixed marriages.

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Key points

• Intercultural relationships are rising rapidly, up from less than 5 percent in the 1960s to nearly 20 percent.
• Opportunities for cultural exchange are rich, but intercultural couples face unique challenges.
• Divorce and separation rates are significantly higher among intercultural couples, reflecting challenges.
• Intercultural couples thrive when proactively addressing areas of conflict and cultivating mutuality.

Intercultural relationships are increasingly common, especially in “hyperdiverse” Western cultures, where mixed marriage has been steadily rising over the decades. According to the Pew Research Center 1, marriage to someone of a different race or ethnicity went from 3 percent in the late 1960s to 7 percent in the 1980s and, as of 2015, was hitting 17 percent. In metropolitan areas, rates are even higher.

What used to be controversial, even anathema, is now commonplace, at least in progressive Western urban centers. Because the concept of race is misleading, contemporary scholars have moved away from…