Change in nuptiality patterns among Cuban Americans: Evidence of cultural and structural assimilation?

"Is assimilation dead?" (Glazer, 1993). One group Of Sociologists argues th at the classical assimilation model no longer, it ever did, serves to facil itate our understanding of immigrant incorporation into American society. A nother group cent-ends that it remains a powerful tool. In this paper I tes t these two alternatives through an analyses of changing patterns of Cuban American nuptiality behavior throughout the 1970-90 period. Based predomina ntly on PUMS of the 1970, 1980 and 1990 U.S. censuses, I find support for t he conjecture that the classical assimilation model, with some modification s, continues to provide us with a viable tool to study contemporary immigra nt incorporation in the United States.