Date of Award

6-2010

Document Type

Union College Only

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Linda Stanhope

Language

English

Keywords

queer, gay, marriage, legal aspects, homosexual, adoption, parenthood

Abstract

Homosexuality is currently at the forefront of political debate; the argument over the definition of the word “marriage” has forced states to come to a decision on whether or not they will recognize gay marriage. The number of states that do recognize gay marriage is slowly increasing. While most attention is centered on the legal aspects of marriage, little has been paid to how gay marriage will affect social attitudes about homosexual couples. This study specifically aimed to investigate how the state of marriage affects attitudes surrounding gay couples planning to adopt a child. The increase of recognized gay marriages will undoubtedly raise the number of gay couples that wish to adopt children and may also improve society’s acceptance of these types of parents. Research in this area could be extremely beneficial to homosexual couples going through the adoption process, adoption agencies, and states still debating the recognition of gay marriage.

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