Marriage Expectations Among Different Groups of Gender and Sexual Minority Youth in the United States

Abstract

Objective

The study aims to analyze marriage expectations among sexual minority youth in the United States.

Background

The possibility of marriage for same-sex couples is recent in the United States. As same-sex couples used to be excluded from getting married, LGB adults have expressed concerns about the institution of marriage and have been less likely than their heterosexual peers to consider it for themselves. However, research is lacking when considering marriage expectations and attitudes regarding marriage among LGBTQ youth.

Method

We use wave 2 of the SOGI-Q Health Study, a community sample of 542 LGBTQ youth aged 15–21 collected in 2013, a time prior to federal marriage equality. We assessed measured marriage expectations, both to a same-sex partner and to a different-sex partner, as well as attitudes regarding marriage.

Results

Results indicated that gay and lesbian youth were more likely than queer and bisexual youth to expect to get married to a same-sex partner. Individual factors (e.g., higher levels of disclosure to family members) and structural factors (e.g., knowing a married same-sex couple), were associated with higher marriage expectations to a same-sex partner. Religiosity was associated with higher expectations of marriage to a different-sex partner.

Conclusion

Sexual identity, religiosity, disclosure, and knowing married same-sex couples were significantly associated with LGBTQ youths’ expectations to marry a same-sex and/or different-sex partner, as well as their attitudes about marriage more broadly.

Implications

Attitudes and expectations regarding marriage among sexual minority youth have implications for their future couple and family formation, which are broadly associated with well-being across the adult lifespan.

Keywords:

• Youth
• LGBTQ
• marriage
• union
• family

Acknowledgments

The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not represent the official views of the NIH. We acknowledge the Priscilla Pond Flawn Endowment at UT Austin for generous support.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, S.T.R, upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

The study was made possible with funding from grants [P2CHD042849 and T32HD007081] awarded to the Population Research Center at University of Texas (UT) Austin by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver NICHD. The project leading to this application has also received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement N° 897016. This research uses data from the Risk and Protective Factors for Suicide among Sexual Minority Youth study, designed by Arnold H. Grossman and Stephen T. Russell, and supported by Award Number R01MH091212 from the National Institute of Mental Health.