The Enduring Significance of Skin Tone: Linking Skin Tone, Attitudes Toward Marriage and Cohabitation, and Sexual Behavior

Abstract

Past evidence has documented that attitudes toward marriage and cohabitation are related to sexual behavior in adolescence and young adulthood. This study extends prior research by longitudinally testing these associations across racial/ethnic groups and investigating whether culturally relevant variations within racial/ethnic minority groups, such as skin tone (i.e., lightness/darkness of skin color), are linked to attitudes toward marriage and cohabitation and sex. Drawing on family and public health literatures and theories, as well as burgeoning skin tone literature, it was hypothesized that more positive attitudes toward marriage and negative attitudes toward cohabitation would be associated with less risky sex, and that links differed for lighter and darker skin individuals. The sample included 6872 respondents (49.6 % female; 70.0 % White; 15.8 % African American; 3.3 % Asian; 10.9 % Hispanic) from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. The results revealed that marital attitudes had a significantly stronger dampening effect on risky sexual behavior of lighter skin African Americans and Asians compared with their darker skin counterparts. Skin tone also directly predicted number of partners and concurrent partners among African American males and Asian females. We discuss theoretical and practical implications of these findings for adolescence and young adulthood.

Facts, Traditions, and Complications of Skin Whitening Products among Female Students in Sudan: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…Likewise, as the current study findings, it also showed that cultural norms and belief of finding a partner is linked with the color of the skin. Landor & Halpern (2016) also corroborate the present study results stating that skin color acts as a determiner of marriage, which eventually promotes the use of skin whitening products. Hamilton, Goldsmith, & Darity (2009) also endorse the idea and stated it as a promoter of the usage among individuals, particularly females.…”

Toward a Better Understanding of African American Families: Development of the Sociocultural Family Stress Model

“…Accordingly, it is mundane, because this stress is so common, a part of the day-to-day experience of all Blacks that it is almost taken for granted; extreme, because it has a harsh impact on the psyche and world view of Blacks (e.g., self-perception, behavior, interactions); environmental, because it is environmentally induced and fostered; stress, because the ultimate impact on African Americans and their families is indeed stressful, detracting and energy-consuming. (Carroll, 1998, p. 271) Thus, MEES is an additional burden that African Americans and their families carry daily 1 Colorism is a form of discrimination based on an individual's skin tone (i.e., lightness or darkness of skin color) rather than race or ethnicity (Landor & Halpern, 2016). Colorism is a social implication of skin tone that results in the allocation of privileges and advantages based on one's skin tone.…”

“…Colorism is a form of discrimination based on an individual's skin tone (i.e., lightness or darkness of skin color) rather than race or ethnicity (Landor & Halpern, ). Colorism is a social implication of skin tone that results in the allocation of privileges and advantages based on one's skin tone.…”

Gender Differences in the Dating Experiences of African American Young Adults: The Challenge of Forming Romantic Relationships Within the Context of Power Imbalance

“…Research has shown that, among African Americans, individuals with lighter skin are often preferred over darker skinned counterparts as potential mates (Landor & Halpern, 2016). Thus, we control for observer-rated skin tone (Landor et al, 2013).…”