• Cheng-Fang Yen, Nai-Ying Ko, Yu-Te Huang, Mu-Hong Chen, I-Hsuan Lin, and Wei-Hsin Lu.
• Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 80708, Taiwan.
• Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Mar 18; 17 (6).

AbstractThis study examined the factors related to the preference about laws to legalize same-sex relationships in participants of the first wave of a survey (Wave 1, 23 months before the same-sex marriage referendum) and the second wave of a survey (Wave 2, 1 week after the same-sex marriage referendum) in Taiwan. The data of 3286 participants in Wave 1 and 1370 participants in Wave 2 recruited through a Facebook advertisement were analyzed. Each participant completed an online questionnaire assessing their attitude toward the legal recognition of same-sex relationships, preference about laws to legalize same-sex relationships (establishing same-sex couple laws outside the Civil Code vs. changing the Civil Code to include same-sex marriage laws), belief in the importance of legalizing same-sex relationships, and perceived social attitudes toward the legal recognition of same-sex relationships. The results revealed that those who did not support legalizing same-sex relationships were more likely to prefer establishing same-sex couple laws outside the Civil Code than those who supported the legalization. The form of law preferred to legalize same-sex relationships significantly changed between Wave 1 and Wave 2. Multiple factors, including gender, age, sexual orientation, belief in the importance of legalizing same-sex relationships to human rights and the social status of sexual minorities, and perceived peers' and families' attitudes toward the legal recognition of same-sex relationships, were significantly associated with the preference of laws, although these associations varied among heterosexual and non-heterosexual participants and at various stages of the survey.

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