African American Males' Attitudes toward Marriage: An Exploratory Study

• Published in: Journal of African American men Vol. 4; no. 1; pp. 71 - 89
• Main Author: King, Anthony E.O.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New Brunswick Transaction Periodicals Consortium 01.07.1999; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: African American Children; African American culture; African American studies; African Americans; Age Differences; Attitudes; Birth order; Child poverty; Children; Community Colleges; Delinquency; Demography; Economic Status; Families & family life; Family Relationship; Females; Gender Discrimination; Generational Differences; Low income groups; Males; Marital status; Marriage; Marriage rates; Married status; Men; Mental disorders; Negative Attitudes; Nuptiality; Ohio; Pennsylvania; Post World War II period; Poverty; Pregnancy; Quality of Life; Single parent family; Single status; Social Attitudes; Social Problems; New York; United States > US
• ISSN: 1081-1753; 1559-1646; 2168-7870; 1936-4741
• DOI: 10.1007/s12111-999-1010-5

This article presents the results from an exploratory study that measured 172 African American males' attitudes toward marriage. The findings indicate that overall the respondents have a positive attitude toward marriage. However, unmarried, younger, and less educated males expressed a relatively negative attitude toward marriage. These findings document a generation gap between older and younger African American males with respect to attitudes toward marriage. The impact this generation gap has had on marriage rates among African American males and the need for additional research are discussed.