Attitudes of Young Adults Toward Marriage and Divorce, 2002–2018

We investigate if and how attitudes of college-aged students in Flanders, Belgium, toward marriage and divorce have evolved between 2002 and 2018. Because students in 2018 are more frequently confronted with divorce, unmarried cohabitation, extramarital fertility, and “alternative” family types, we expect them to hold more positive attitudes toward these developments than students in 2002. We also expect students in 2018 to hold more negative attitudes toward marriage. Data were collected among first-year psychology students of the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences at KU Leuven (Belgium): 167 in 2002–2003 and 471 in 2018–2019. Results confirm our expectations: Students in 2018 hold more positive attitudes toward divorce and more negative attitudes toward marriage than students in 2002. We also find attitude differences by gender and family type.