Immigration, intermarriage and socio-cultural integration in catalonia, spain: Towards a multi-method analysis

© 2014 Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona. All rights reserved. Since the beginning of the last decade, coinciding with the arrival of a considerable number of foreign immigrants to Spain, the amount of mixed or bi-national unions has grown considerably. However, very little is still actually known about the scope, internal dynamics, meanings and social consequences of this situation. In this paper we present the preliminary findings of two research projects in progress, in which the relationship between mixed unions and social integration/cohesion is being analyzed, from the study of seven immigrant origins forming mixed and non-mixed unions residing in Catalonia (Spain), and using a multi-method approach that includes the analysis of administrative data sources and 94 personal/social networks. The data presented here correspond to the analysis of one significant data source (ENI) and the descriptive analysis of some personal networks. Our results suggest a multi-directional or segmented relationship between mixedness and social integration, which is much more complex th it has traditionally been theorized.