Ring by Spring? A Study of College Students’ Gender Role Driven Relationship Expectations

Authors: Haille Mark, Lili Pitkowsky, Matthew Bitterman, Aadi Shah, Deanna Capobianco, Emma Fitzgerald

Field of Study: Social Sciences

Program Affiliation: Binghamton Human Sexualities Lab

Faculty Mentors: Ann Merriwether, Sean Massey, Melissa Hardesty, Sarah Young

Easel: 65

Timeslot: Afternoon

Abstract: Research in past decades identified “Mrs.” degrees as the practice of women attending college to find a husband as their main priority. This idea reinforces traditional gender roles, where the husband is career-driven and the wife is a dependent homemaker. A resurgence of the desire for gender-driven traditional marriage roles, “tradwives”, has recently been presented in the media. This study will examine current college students’ perceptions and experiences in pursuing a marriage partner by graduation. In the current study, college students were surveyed to assess their desire to find a long term relationship by graduation. Researchers hypothesize that women are more likely than men to seek a marriage partner before graduation. Preliminary results of the survey suggest that gender differences persist in long term relationship goals. Researchers conclude that more women than men expect to find their life partner in college although a push towards ultraconservative ideologies is not supported.