“Can I Bring Them Home: The Role of Parental Pressure in Marital Decision Making”

Discussant: Dr. Chiara Galli, Assistant Professor, Comparative Human Development

Abstract:
In this paper, I detail the intergenerational family dynamics at play in marital decision-making among second-generation Nigerian Americans. All parents have dreams that their children will lead more successful lives than they did. Immigrant parents similarly have these aspirations; however, those aspirations are often framed around parental sacrifices endured when immigrating. Therefore, I introduce the concept of the immigrant bargain as it pertains to the experiences of Nigerian Americans. Among Nigerian Americans, success is not only measured by educational attainment and social mobility, but also in terms of picking an endogamous partner. As evidenced by select cases of participants, there are also gendered differences in the amount of pressure that mothers and fathers exert on their children, with mothers being more vocal in expressing their expectations for an endogamous daughter- or son-in-law. To frame these findings, this paper references literature on the impact of parental pressure and expectations on their children’s marital choices.