| Sumario: | Do first- and second-generation immigrants in mixed unions with native partners experience more conflicts with their parents than those in endogamous unions with co-ethnics? While selecting into mixed unions may already be linked to greater tensions during singlehood, these unions can further amplify conflicts post-formation, as they drive the negotiation of differences. However, conflicts may also decrease from dating to marriage, as mixed unions may foster mutual acceptance over time. This study uses German Family Panel data (pairfam, waves 1–13) to investigate maternal and paternal conflicts. Random-effects models reveal that first- and second-generation immigrants in mixed unions experience higher parental conflicts, even pre-union formation. Distributed fixed-effects models assess how the relationship between mixed unions and conflicts changes across union trajectory stages (from singlehood to dating, cohabitation, and marriage), while accounting for selection. Findings indicate that, when controlling for selection, transitioning from singlehood to mixed cohabitations and marriages may still result in more paternal conflicts compared to endogamous unions, especially among non-European second-generation immigrants. Conversely, for first-generation immigrants, mixed unions reduce maternal and paternal conflicts. Thus, this study highlights the importance of life-course approaches and factors like migrant generation in investigating mixed unions' outcomes and understanding their link to assimilation processes.
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