Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Marriage for same-sex couples is arguably the public and political issue related to marriage and family in the United States today (and indeed in many parts of the world). Many states and communities have experienced significant media and other public attention that ranged from supportive to oppositional with regard to these measures. The opinions and attitudes of young people have been largely ignored within these debates, except for periodic examples in which adults (or organizations) make claims that such marriage limitations “protect children.” The Survey on Marriage Rights and School Safety was designed to understand adolescents’ attitudes about marriage for same-sex couples and to examine possible links between the ongoing public debates and their school safety and mental health. A total of 604 9th-12th grade students from 42 states participated in the online survey in the 2005-2006 school year. Results indicate that frequent and supportive discussion about marriage for same-sex couples at school was associated with school safety; in contrast, supportive media coverage was associated with school safety regardless of the frequency of reported coverage. In conclusion we consider implications of these results for research on children’s understandings of rights and the role of marriage in society, as well as for policy and advocacy with and for young people.