Ethnic minority families
The Fourth Survey of Ethnic Minorities, carried out by the Policy Studies Institute in 1994, confirmed that people in Britain from Caribbean and Asian ethnic minority groups often had different kinds of family formation. This follow-on qualitative study by Sharon Beishon, Tariq Modood and Satnam Virdee, based on interviews with 68 ethnic minority families, details the views on family life of three groups - African-Caribbeans; Indians and African Asians; and Pakistanis and Bangladeshis. Some interviews were also undertaken with white people in order to be able to make comparisons, where appropriate.
Pakistani and Bangladeshi respondents preferred multi-generational households. Most of those interviewed felt that married women should not take up paid employment outside the home. African-Caribbeans were likely to have a more individualistic outlook - a majority of interviewees from this group believed that independence and physical and emotional ‘space’ were necessary for individual maturity. While arranged marriages were expected to prevail as a custom among Pakistanis and Bangladeshis, it was envisaged that in future those getting married will have some say in the choice of spouse. African-Asians and Indians practised a ‘negotiated’ form of arranged marriage, in which parents and the young people both have a say. A positive attitude to marriage and to the perceived benefits for children of being raised in this family structure was common to all Asian groups. However, African-Asians and Indians were much more positive than the other Asian groups about women having paid employment outside the home, and people having relationships outside their own ethnic group. The majority of African-Caribbean and white interviewees also held positive views on these issues. Most of the African-Caribbeans, whether married or not, valued the institution of