Black-white college student attitudes and expectations in paying for dates

This study examined a black-white sample (N= 173) of university students to ascertain if there is a protocol related to paying for dates. The sample was comprised of 97 blacks and 76 whites. Most of the blacks were from a historically black university and most of the whites were from a predominantly white university, both located in the southeast. Blacks had a slightly lower mean family income when compared with whites. Both racial and gender role related attitudes and expectations related to paying for dates were also explored. African Americans have generally been noted to enact more flexible or nontraditional gender role attitudes and behaviors in some areas. This study sought to ascertain if this pattern followed in the economic dimension of dating. Findings showed race differences on several variables related to paying for dates. Blacks were found to be less flexible or more traditional than whites on several aspects of dating related attitudes and expectations. Whites were more likely to endorse more flexible role patterns and seemed less concerned with a dating protocol. Other important background variables related to more flexible gender role attitudes and expectations were classification, age, and total income of respondents' family of origin respectively.