<p>Although general-population studies indicate that most young adults in the US want to marry someday and regard getting married as a major life goal, research has yet to examine the marital aspirations of sexual minority young adults, which is a significant oversight given the nationwide legalization of same-sex marriage. To address this, we describe the marital aspirations of a non-random sample of 257 sexual minority young adults (18–35) who completed an online survey in 2021. Furthermore, we examine whether our respondents’ marital aspirations differ based on (a) their attitudes toward marriage, including whether they see marriage as heteronormative, whether they approve of marital non-monogamy, and whether they see marriage as a lifelong commitment, and (b) their sociodemographic characteristics, including their education, race/ethnicity, gender, religion, and parents’ marital status. Although most respondents report wanting to marry, most do not see marriage as a major life goal, and few say that they would be disappointed if they never married. Our analyses also show that respondents who have more critical or queer attitudes toward marriage generally report lower marital aspirations. Finally, our analyses reveal complex associations between respondents’ sociodemographic characteristics and their marital aspirations, including several that are inconsistent with those reported in general-population studies.</p>

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Marital Aspirations among Sexual Minority Young Adults: Exploring Attitudinal and Sociodemographic Associations

  • Fio Selwyn Haire,
  • Aaron Hoy

摘要

Although general-population studies indicate that most young adults in the US want to marry someday and regard getting married as a major life goal, research has yet to examine the marital aspirations of sexual minority young adults, which is a significant oversight given the nationwide legalization of same-sex marriage. To address this, we describe the marital aspirations of a non-random sample of 257 sexual minority young adults (18–35) who completed an online survey in 2021. Furthermore, we examine whether our respondents’ marital aspirations differ based on (a) their attitudes toward marriage, including whether they see marriage as heteronormative, whether they approve of marital non-monogamy, and whether they see marriage as a lifelong commitment, and (b) their sociodemographic characteristics, including their education, race/ethnicity, gender, religion, and parents’ marital status. Although most respondents report wanting to marry, most do not see marriage as a major life goal, and few say that they would be disappointed if they never married. Our analyses also show that respondents who have more critical or queer attitudes toward marriage generally report lower marital aspirations. Finally, our analyses reveal complex associations between respondents’ sociodemographic characteristics and their marital aspirations, including several that are inconsistent with those reported in general-population studies.