Marriage and Migration Representations and Attitudes of Greek Cypriots towards Inter-Societal Marriage
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Abstract
This article tackles a questionnaire survey-based study of Greek Cypriots’ attitudes towards inter-societal marriage between non-nationals and Greek Cypriots in the Republic of Cyprus. The study draws working hypotheses from a preliminary analysis of data from official population statistics on inter-societal marriage and immigration in Cyprus and further explores theoretical assumptions about three central factors to the propensity for inter-societal marriage: attitudes, opportunities and exchange. Four key findings resulted: different social distances for diverse groups of non-nationals; a hierarchy in Greek Cypriots’ perceptions of different nationalities living in Cyprus that accounts for economic, racial and religious separation lines; gendered patterns of marital preferences for non-national spouses
and more acceptance for nationalities that are perceived as having similarities with the Greek Cypriots.
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inter-societal marriage, attitudes, Cypriot society, non-national spouses, international migration
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