Nina Van den Driessche

Paths of Acculturation and Social Inclusion. Migration, Marriage Opportunities and Assortative Mating by Geographic Origin in Antwerp, 1846-1920

Partner choice and marriage are used as indicators of paths of acculturation and social inclusion among migrants who moved as singles to Antwerp. Whereas scholars previously studied either the timing and intensity of marriage among migrants or the degree to which migrants married natives, we utilise a model which combines both approaches, linking four different meeting and mating outcomes to four acculturation trajectories. The event history analyses show that, in line with studies from the Chicago School of sociology, migrants were marginalised at a large scale. However, this was not a result of economic hardship, limited skills or the rural background of the migrant, but related to ethnic and cultural differences. Stayers and leavers had equal risks of facing marginalisation. Being born in the direct hinterland and moving early to the city increased the likelihood of experiencing assimilation.