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Abstract ObjectiveWith needed and growing attention to sexual minorities and unmarried individuals, there is a need to consider how best to capture relationships and relationship organization in family studies. BackgroundTraditional measures of marital status are commonly used to examine differences in relationships and socioeconomic outcomes, but they do not adequately capture the diversity of relationship experiences and leave certain types of relationship experiences invisible. MethodThis article examines the inclusion of a relationship measure in the American Marriage Survey, a national probability‐based sample of 2806 adults in the United States, to provide a more diverse and expansive perspective on relationships and relationship organization. While there is a great deal of overlap between those who are married or cohabiting (marital status) and those who are in an exclusive relationship (relationship status), there is also potential for variation in what kinds of relationships, if any, people are in. ResultsWe find that the relationship measure is particularly useful in showing that a majority of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and pansexual individuals are in an exclusive relationship and also that gender and sexual minorities are more likely than cisgender and heterosexual individuals to be in consensual nonmonogamous relationships. This article also provides direction on re‐coding open text responses from the relationship status measure. ConclusionWe conclude that a relationship status measure allows for greater inclusivity and visibility of sexual minorities and unmarried persons, including but not limited to queer individuals, families, and communities, as well as consensual nonmonogamous relationships. 

Abstract IntroductionRecent research shows an increase in polyamory and acceptance of polyamorous relationships. However, there is still limited research on broader attitudes toward monogamy and polyamory, particularly regarding legal rights and with a national sample. This study examines the impact of cohort, sexual orientation, and contact with polyamorists on attitudes toward monogamy and polyamorous legal rights. This research has the potential to bring more attention to polyamorous relationships, disrupt heteronormative views of relationships, and consider legal rights for those in relationships involving more than two people. MethodsWe use data from a sample of 2665 adults from the 2021 American Marriage Survey, a national survey focused on attitudes toward marriage post-marriage equality, to consider the relationship between cohort, sexual orientation, contact, and attitudes toward mononormativity and polyamory. ResultsOverall, there is support for the idea that monogamy is the norm while people are generally not supportive of granting legal rights for polyamorous relationships. Younger cohorts, LGBQ individuals, and those who know a polyamorous person are less likely to support mononormativity and more likely to support legal rights for polyamorous relationships. Furthermore, contact has a stronger impact on attitudes of Millennials and LGBQ individuals. ConclusionWhile mononormativity remains the norm and polyamory is not widely supported, given patterns of greater acceptance among younger cohorts and LGBQ individuals, there is a good possibility that acceptance will increase over time. Policy ImplicationsThis research has the potential to bring more attention to polyamorous relationships, disrupt heteronormative views of relationships, and consider legal rights for those in relationships involving more than two people. 

The deinstitutionalization of marriage suggests more support for divorce and the forgoing of marriage. In this study, we examine attitudes toward both marriage and divorce in the context of having children and how they coincide with each other, creating a new typology of attitudes. Based on a national probability sample of 2,789 adults from the American Marriage Survey conducted in 2021, we find that just over half (55%) of people express transformative deinstitutionalization attitudes, in which they support divorce as well as forgoing marriage, while the next largest group (22%) hold divorce deinstitutionalization attitudes, in which they support divorce but also encourage marriage when children are involved. Findings show that women, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and pansexual individuals, and those who are cohabiting or divorced are more likely to hold transformative deinstitutionalization attitudes compared to pro-institutionalization attitudes, which support marriage and oppose divorce when children are involved. Meanwhile, older individuals, those who attend religious services more frequently, and those who identify as more politically conservative are less likely to hold any form of deinstitutionalization attitudes. Interestingly, education and parenthood have no impact on this set of attitudes. Given trends that show decreases in marriage and increases in LGBT identification, there may be further movement toward the disconnection of marriage and children. 

This study examines the idea that attitudes toward marriage are liberalizing in the US in the face of federal recognition of same-sex marriage legislation by examining attitudes toward conventional marriage ideals, same-sex marriage, and polyamorous marriage. It draws on a sample of liberal arts college students (n = 330) in the southeastern United States as a representation of a cohort more flexible to change and greater social tolerance. Findings indicate shifts away from conventional marriage and toward marriage as more inclusive of same-sex couples. At the same time, less than half support polyamorous marriage. Unsurprisingly, religious students are more likely to support conventional marriage ideals and less likely to support same-sex marriage and students with conservative political ideology are less likely to support same-sex marriage or polyamorous marriage. In particular, the negative impact of political ideology on these attitudes is stronger for men and straight students. Women are more likely than men to support same-sex marriage. LGBQ students are less likely to support conventional views of marriage and more likely to support polyamorous marriage than heterosexual students. While college students today have entered adulthood in the age of marriage equality, and are accepting of same-sex unions, students indicate more mixed feelings about what marriage encompasses, the value of marriage, and whether to support polyamorous marriage.