Gender and Interracial Relationship Dissolution: Evidence from a Decade of Roommate Outcomes

Using a natural experiment at an elite college (1982–1991), we analyze roommate choices following random first-year assignments, during a period when the Asian-student population doubled. This design allows us to test how shifting demographics affect interracial tie dissolution. Focusing on white-Asian dyads, we find a significant gender divide: Women exhibit consistently high rates of interracial relationship dissolution regardless of population composition, whereas men's interracial ties are affected by population shifts, with tie dissolution increasing as minorities have more same-race outside options. These findings shift the study of intergroup contact from relationship formation to durability, demonstrating that opportunity structures shape interracial relationship dissolution in a setting largely free from self-selection processes that characterize most naturally occurring ties.