INTERMARRIAGE AND HOMOGAMY - CAUSES, PATTERNS, TRENDS

People have a tendency to many within their social group or to many a person who is close to them in status. Although many characteristics p lay a role in the choice of a spouse, sociologists have most often exa mined endogamy and homogamy with respect to race/ethnicity, religion, and socioeconomic status. I first give an overview of hypotheses on th e causes of endogamy and homogamy. The various hypotheses that have be en suggested in the literature can be distinguished as arguments about three more general factors: (a) the preferences of marriage candidate s for certain characteristics in a spouse, (b) the interference of ''t hird parties'' in the selection process, and (c) the constraints of th e marriage market in which candidates are searching for a spouse. Seco nd, I summarize empirical research by answering four questions: (a) To what extent are groups endogamous and how do groups differ in this re spect? (b) How has endogamy changed over time? (c) Which factors are r elated to endogamy? (a? How do various dimensions of partner choice co incide? Third, I discuss strengths and weaknesses of past research. St rengths include the mass of descriptive work that has been done and th e development of a multifaceted theoretical perspective which gives so ciological theorizing an edge over psychological and economic theories of partner choice. Weaknesses include the lack of standardization of methods in describing patterns and trends and the relatively weak inte gration of empirical and theoretical work.