AFRICAN AMERICAN COLLEGE STUDENTS AND THEIR ATTITUDES TOWARD MARRIAGE

by Martin, Marika Lelang

The purpose of this thesis is to determine how parental marriage experience influences the romantic attitudes and beliefs toward marriage of young African American adults. The analysis compares the attitudes and beliefs of those whose biological parents are happily married, unhappily married, widowed, separated, diovrced, or never married. This study surveyed 268 African American college students from public and private institutions. This study found that ther was significance in optimism toward marriage among African American college students whose biological parents were happily married. It was founf that perception of control remained the same regardless of parental marital history. Finally, it was found that higher levels of religious commmitment among participants was associated with higher levels of marital expectations, regardless of parent marital history.