Another form of sociological assortative mating is assortative mating based on racial and ethnic background. Mentioned above in the context of the genetically similar preferring to mate with one another, this form of assortative mating can take many varied and complicated forms. While the tendency mentioned above does exist, and people do tend to marry those genetically similar to themselves, especially if within the same racial or ethnic group, this trend can change in various ways. It is common, for example, for the barriers to intermarriage with the general population experienced by a minority population to decrease as the numbers of the minority population increase. This assimilation reduces the prevalence of this form of assortative mating. However, growth of a minority population does not necessarily lead to decreased barriers to intermarriage. This can be seen in the sharp increase in the non-white Hispanic population of the United States in the 1990s and 2000s that correlated with a sharp decrease in the percentage of non-white Hispanics intermarrying with the general population.