Asian-American
divorce rate up,
Census showsBut even at 5 percent, it's lower
than for the United States overall
WASHINGTON >> More Asian-Americans are divorcing, census figures indicate, suggesting this segment of the population may gradually be shedding cultural taboos against the practice.
According to Census Bureau data released yesterday, an estimated 488,000 Asians or Pacific Islanders age 15 and older in March 2002 were divorced, about 5 percent of that population. That was up from roughly 205,000, or less than 4 percent of Asians in 1994.
The changes show that more Asians may be considering American norms on divorce and marriage, said Wei Li, a professor of Asian-Pacific American studies at Arizona State University.
"At least in their traditional cultures, (a divorce) is like losing face for the entire family," Li said. Divorce tends to be less culturally acceptable in Asian countries, and married immigrants may bring that sentiment with them to America.
Asians born in the United States may be more apt to consider divorce than those born overseas, she said.
Nevertheless, the percentage of divorced Asian-Americans is still much lower than that of the U.S. population as a whole -- 9.5 percent, according to 2002 data.
An increasing number of Asian Americans are unmarried -- up from almost 1.8 million, or 31 percent of Asians in 1994, to 3.2 million, or 33 percent in 2002. That is slightly higher than the 29 percent of unmarried U.S. residents.
The latest figures come from a nationwide survey of 70,000 homes in March 2002 on a range of socioeconomic characteristics. Among other findings:
>> About 19 percent of Asian-American families had five or more members, compared with 14 percent of all families.>> Forty percent of Asian and Pacific Islander families had incomes of $75,000 or more, compared with 31 percent of all families.
>>The percentage of Asians age 25 and older with a bachelor's degree was 47 percent, nearly twice the 27 percent for the U.S. population overall.
>>Fifty-one percent of Asians lived in the West in 2002, down from 58 percent in 1994. The share of the Asian population in all other regions grew.