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Attitudes Toward Same-Sex Marriage, Polyamorous Marriage, and Conventional Marriage Ideals Among College Students in the Southeastern United States

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Abstract

This study examines the idea that attitudes toward marriage are liberalizing in the US in the face of federal recognition of same-sex marriage legislation by examining attitudes toward conventional marriage ideals, same-sex marriage, and polyamorous marriage. It draws on a sample of liberal arts college students (n = 330) in the southeastern United States as a representation of a cohort more flexible to change and greater social tolerance. Findings indicate shifts away from conventional marriage and toward marriage as more inclusive of same-sex couples. At the same time, less than half support polyamorous marriage. Unsurprisingly, religious students are more likely to support conventional marriage ideals and less likely to support same-sex marriage and students with conservative political ideology are less likely to support same-sex marriage or polyamorous marriage. In particular, the negative impact of political ideology on these attitudes is stronger for men and straight students. Women are more likely than men to support same-sex marriage. LGBQ students are less likely to support conventional views of marriage and more likely to support polyamorous marriage than heterosexual students. While college students today have entered adulthood in the age of marriage equality, and are accepting of same-sex unions, students indicate more mixed feelings about what marriage encompasses, the value of marriage, and whether to support polyamorous marriage.

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Notes

  1. Between 2003 and 2010, Gallup measured polygamy as “one husband has more than one wife” while wording changed in 2011 to indicate “a married person has more than one spouse”.

  2. We use the label “LGBQ” in this case because we are looking at sexual orientation and comparing those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or queer with those who identify as straight or heterosexual. Due to small numbers, we were unable to look at trans students in our gender comparisons.

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Funding

This research was supported by the National Science Foundation and Nancy and Erwin Maddrey professor funds that support Kaufman.

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  1. Department of Sociology, Davidson College, Davidson, NC, 28035, USA

    Gayle Kaufman, Alex Aiello & Camryn Ellis

  2. Department of Sociology, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA, 70148, USA

    D’Lane Compton

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  1. Gayle Kaufman
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Correspondence to Gayle Kaufman.

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Table 4 Parameter estimates for the regression models of attitudes toward marriage with interactions
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Kaufman, G., Aiello, A., Ellis, C. et al. Attitudes Toward Same-Sex Marriage, Polyamorous Marriage, and Conventional Marriage Ideals Among College Students in the Southeastern United States. Sexuality & Culture 26, 1599–1620 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-022-09960-y

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