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Sexual orientation and outcomes in college

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  • Carpenter, Christopher S.

Abstract

It has been well documented that sexual minority individuals are significantly more likely to be college educated than heterosexual individuals [Black, D., Gates, G., Sanders, S., & Taylor, L. (2000). Demographics of the gay and lesbian population in the United States: Evidence from available systematic data sources. Demography, 37(2), 139-154; and others]. Yet there is very little scholarship on the experiences of sexual minorities in college. We discuss several ways that sexual orientation could matter for college outcomes, and we provide the first empirical evidence on this question by using confidential data on over 40,000 students from the 1997, 1999, and 2001 waves of the Harvard College Alcohol Study. We identify sexual minorities by using responses to questions about the sex of the respondent's lifetime sex partners. After conditioning on observable demographic characteristics and institution fixed effects, we find that (compared to their heterosexual peers): (1) gay males have higher college grade point averages and perceive their academic work as more important; (2) gay and bisexual males are more likely to report the presence of a faculty member or administrator with whom they could discuss a problem; and (3) gay and bisexual males place more importance on participating in student organizations, volunteer activities, the arts, and politics. Among females, we find that: (1) bisexual females are less satisfied with the education they are receiving, spend less time studying, and perceive their academic work as less important; and (2) lesbian and bisexual females place more importance on participation in the arts and politics. These patterns suggest important and complex relationships between sexual orientation and college outcomes.

Suggested Citation

  • Carpenter, Christopher S., 2009. "Sexual orientation and outcomes in college," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(6), pages 693-703, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecoedu:v:28:y:2009:i:6:p:693-703
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Carpenter, Christopher S., 2007. "Revisiting the income penalty for behaviorally gay men: Evidence from NHANES III," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 14(1), pages 25-34, January.
    2. Christopher S. Carpenter, 2008. "Sexual orientation, work, and income in Canada," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 41(4), pages 1239-1261, November.
    3. Eisenberg, Marla E. & Wechsler, Henry, 2003. "Social influences on substance-use behaviors of gay, lesbian, and bisexual college students: findings from a national study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 57(10), pages 1913-1923, November.
    4. M. V. Lee Badgett, 1995. "The Wage Effects of Sexual Orientation Discrimination," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 48(4), pages 726-739, July.
    5. Dan Black & Gary Gates & Seth Sanders & Lowell Taylor, 2000. "Demographics of the gay and lesbian population in the United States: Evidence from available systematic data sources," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 37(2), pages 139-154, May.
    6. Erik Plug & Peter Berkhout, 2004. "Effects of sexual preferences on earnings in the Netherlands," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 17(1), pages 117-131, February.
    7. Dan A. Black & Hoda R. Makar & Seth G. Sanders & Lowell J. Taylor, 2003. "The Earnings Effects of Sexual Orientation," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 56(3), pages 449-469, April.
    8. Christopher S. Carpenter, 2008. "Sexual orientation, work, and income in Canada," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 41(4), pages 1239-1261, November.
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    Cited by:

    1. Mishel Emma, 2019. "Intersections between Sexual Identity, Sexual Attraction, and Sexual Behavior among a Nationally Representative Sample of American Men and Women," Journal of Official Statistics, Sciendo, vol. 35(4), pages 859-884, December.
    2. Katherine B. Coffman & Lucas C. Coffman & Keith M. Marzilli Ericson, 2017. "The Size of the LGBT Population and the Magnitude of Antigay Sentiment Are Substantially Underestimated," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 63(10), pages 3168-3186, October.
    3. Carpenter, Christopher S. & Sansone, Dario, 2021. "Cigarette taxes and smoking among sexual minority adults," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    4. Sansone, Dario, 2019. "LGBT students: New evidence on demographics and educational outcomes," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    5. Goodnature, Mia & Neto, Amir Borges Ferreira, 2021. "Same-Sex Unmarried Partners in the Census," Journal of Regional Analysis and Policy, Mid-Continent Regional Science Association, vol. 51(1), April.
    6. Diaz-Serrano, Luis & Meix-Llop, Enric, 2016. "Do schools discriminate against homosexual parents? Evidence from a randomized correspondence experiment," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 133-142.
    7. Sarzosa, Miguel, 2023. "Sexual Orientation and Labor Market Disparities," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 723-755.

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