Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 2007, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Master of Social Work, The Ohio State University, 2005, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 2008, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1999, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Business Administration

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2013, Sociology

This study examines fertility wants, attitudes, and intentions to have a child to illustrate differences that exist within the unmarried population in terms of union status and sexual orientation. Using data on 15,418 men and women from the 2006-2010 National Survey of Family Growth (Cycle 7), I find that fertility attitudes and intentions to have a child differ significantly by union status. Married men and women have more positive attitudes towards children than those who are unmarried. Singles and cohabiters lag behind married men and women in their intentions to have a child, and cohabiters have significantly less certain fertility intentions than singles. However, cohabiters have greater odds of wanting a child than marrieds and singles. There are, however, gender and age differences. At older ages, cohabiting women have significantly greater intentions to have a child than older marrieds and singles. The results also demonstrate differences between sexual minorities and heterosexuals. While many sexual minorities want to have children and intend becoming parents, their attitude towards children is less positive and they report less certain fertility intentions than heterosexuals. However, while sexual minority men, in general, have the least certain fertility intentions of all groups, when in a couple, their intentions to have a child surpass those of sexual minority women and heterosexual men. These findings provide evidence of many differences in fertility wants, attitudes, and intentions across sexual orientation, union status, gender, and age. This study adds to the growing literature on sexual minority families and demonstrates ways in which sexual minorities are similar to or different from heterosexuals in their family formation desires and attitudes. It also offers suggestions for future research on fertility intentions among unmarried men and women and the meaning of marriage and cohabitation among this group.

Committee: Wendy Manning Dr. (Advisor); Susan Brown Dr. (Committee Member); Kara Joyner Dr. (Committee Member); Laura Sanchez Dr. (Committee Member); Nancy Patterson Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Demography; Sociology

Master of Arts, University of Toledo, 2010, Geography

Poland's significant economic and political success, crowned by the 2004 membership in the European Union, can be contrasted with many social issues which remain a heated subject in the public forum. One of these issues is the social situation of the LGBT community in Poland. Through an analysis of the possibility of creating a dedicated LGBT district in Poznan, Poland, this study attempts to provide a new, utilitarian perspective on the LGBT debate.This research is based on a non-statistical survey distributed among representatives of the LGBT community in Poland. The survey, a substitute for individual interviews, provides insight about this group's support for a dedicated LGBT district in a Polish city, as well as a general picture of the characteristics such a district would have. This research demonstrates that there is significant approval for a LGBT district in Poland among the Polish LGBT which could provide a variety of services targeting a well educated, relatively prosperous, and currently dispersed group of consumers. Simultaneously, a LGBT district in Poznan, Poland could also further strengthen the city's business community, and increase its global attractiveness. However, existing level of homophobia in Poland causes some concern about the viability of an openly gay district.

Committee: Dr. Daniel J. Hammel (Committee Chair); Dr. Mary B. Schlemper (Committee Member); Dr. Sujata Shetty (Committee Member) Subjects: Geography; Social Research; Urban Planning