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Alternatives in intimacy, marriage, and family lifestyles

Preferences of Black college students

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Abstract

This study investigated a sample of southern Black students' willingness to engage in 16 alternative intimacy, marriage, and family forms and examined the relation between demographic, familial, and social psychological variables and alternative lifestyles chosen. Data were obtained from a random sample of 230 Black students of marriageable age. In general, the subjects expressed relatively less willingness to experiment with the nontraditional lifestyles compared to conventional family forms; but theoretically relevant correlates of their predisposition were different for each sex. Year in college, major areas, parental love, family income, parental authority, and parental permissiveness with regard to dating relationships were significantly related to females' willingness, while residence and father's education were related to males' willingness to engage in alternative lifestyles.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jackson State University, USA

    V. V. Prakasa Rao & V. Nandini Rao

Authors
  1. V. V. Prakasa Rao
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  2. V. Nandini Rao
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Authors' Note: This is a revised article originally presented at the annual meeting of the Southern Sociological Society, Knoxville, TE, March 1980. The authors wish to thank Noel A. Cazenave and Robert Whitehurst for constructive criticism. Analysis of the article was made possible, in part, by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation.

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Prakasa Rao, V.V., Rao, V.N. Alternatives in intimacy, marriage, and family lifestyles. J Fam Econ Iss 3, 485–498 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01082945

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01082945

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