Ancestral marriage cultures and first partnership choices of the children of immigrants

Using Norwegian register data and data from the World Marriage Database, we investigate how marriage behaviour in countries of origin is associated with the first partnership choices of the children of immigrants (i.e. the second generation and childhood migrants). We consider the timing and type of first partnership, distinguishing between marriage and cohabitation and between endogamous, exogamous, and majority-background partner choices. Results from discrete-time multilevel models confirm that less traditional partnership behaviour in origin countries, characterized by a later singulate mean age at marriage and a higher share unmarried at ages 25-29, is associated with less traditional behaviour in Norway, such as cohabitation and choosing a majority-background partner. We also examine heterogeneity by sex and migrant generation as well as the importance of the local partner market. Together, our results underscore the significance of origin-country norms and behaviours in shaping the partnership formation of young adults with migrant backgrounds.