EXPOSURE AND EMOTIONAL REACTIVITY TO DAILY STRESS IN SAME-SEX AND DIFFERENT-SEX MARRIAGES

Abstract Recent work exploring links between stress processes and well-being within marriage suggest that women may be at an increased risk for exposure and emotional reactivity to daily stress. However, studies have focused primarily on heterosexual couples, raising questions concerning whether and how these gendered patterns might unfold differently for men and women in same-sex marriages. In the present study, we analyze 10 days of dyadic diary data from 756 midlife men and women in 378 gay, lesbian, and heterosexual marriages to consider how exposure and emotional reactivity to daily stress may differ across union types. We find that women are exposed to more daily stressors than men and that this exposure is especially detrimental to the well-being of women in different-sex marriages. These findings highlight the need to include same-sex couples when exploring gendered linkages between daily stress processes and well-being within marriage.

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Daily Marital Strain and Sleep in Same-Sex and Different-Sex Couples

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igaa057.2045 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 605-606

Author(s):

Michael Garcia

Keyword(s):

Sleep Quality ◽

Well Being ◽

Same Sex ◽

Men And Women ◽

Same Sex Couples ◽

Diary Data ◽

Union Type ◽

Gender Impacts ◽

Marital Strain ◽

Health And Well Being

Abstract Marital strain has consistently been linked to many indicators of daily health and well-being, including sleep. Prior studies show that, on days when marital strain is higher, women in different-sex couples experience poorer sleep outcomes. However, this work has not yet considered whether and how these relationships differ for men and women in same-sex couples. Using 10 days of dyadic diary data from 756 midlife U.S. men and women in 378 gay, lesbian, and heterosexual marriages, we examine the associations of daily marital strain with sleep quality and duration and consider whether these relationships differ across union type. Results suggest that increased marital strain is associated with poorer sleep quality and shorter sleep duration, but only for women married to men. These findings underscore the importance of including same-sex couples when exploring linkages between marital dynamics and health, especially when considering how gender impacts these processes.

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Relationship Quality among Swiss Women in Opposite-Sex Versus Same-Sex Romantic Relationships

Swiss Journal of Psychology ◽

10.1024/1421-0185/a000115 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 72 (4) ◽

pp. 229-233 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Nathalie Meuwly ◽

Brian A. Feinstein ◽

Joanne Davila ◽

David Garcia Nuñez ◽

Guy Bodenmann

Keyword(s):

Romantic Relationships ◽

Relationship Quality ◽

Romantic Relationship ◽

Well Being ◽

Relationship Functioning ◽

Heterosexual Couples ◽

Same Sex ◽

Online Questionnaire ◽

Same Sex Couples ◽

Female Partners

Romantic relationship quality is an important factor for well-being. Most research on romantic relationships is based on heterosexual couples, but studies of different types of dyads showed that relationship functioning among same-sex couples is similar to that among heterosexual couples. However, a few studies suggest that lesbian partners are better communicators and more satisfied in their romantic relationships. The present study aimed to replicate these findings with a sample of Swiss couples, as most of the previous studies have been based on US-American samples. Eighty-two women who were currently in a romantic relationship with either a male or a female partner completed an online questionnaire about their relationship functioning. Compared to heterosexual women, lesbian women reported receiving better support from and experiencing less conflict with their female partners. They also showed a trend toward being more satisfied in their relationship. The study supports the notion that, relative to heterosexual couples, the quality of support and conflict interactions may be enhanced in female same-sex couples.

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Parenthood Desire in Italian Homosexual Couples

Journal of Family Issues ◽

10.1177/0192513x21999691 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 0192513X2199969

Author(s):

Alessandra Santona ◽

Arianna Vecchi ◽

Laura Gorla ◽

Giacomo Tognasso

Keyword(s):

Social Control ◽

Gay Men ◽

Well Being ◽

Gay Male Couples ◽

Heterosexual Couples ◽

Same Sex ◽

Male Couples ◽

Same Sex Couples ◽

Gay Male ◽

Desire To Have Children

Many Italian gay and lesbian individuals have the desire to become parents, despite the fact that they still face barriers due to the low acceptance of same-sex parenthood. This study investigates the desire and motivation of same-sex couples to have children. The sample consists of 31 same-sex couples (17 lesbian couples and 14 gay male couples) and 31 heterosexual couples. All the participants were childless at the time of the study and had been involved in their current relationship for at least two years. We used the Parenthood Motivation List (PML) to assess motivations underlying the desire to have children. The results showed that both groups wanted to have children and considered the same motivations to be important for parenthood. We discovered that happiness, well-being, and parenthood were important for same-sex parenthood, while social control was considered less important. In addition, gay men and lesbians had lower scores for well-being and identity.

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Psychological Distress Transmission in Same-sex and Different-sex Marriages

Journal of Health and Social Behavior ◽

10.1177/0022146518813097 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 60 (1) ◽

pp. 18-35 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Rachel Behler ◽

Rachel Donnelly ◽

Debra Umberson

Keyword(s):

Psychological Distress ◽

Heterosexual Couples ◽

Same Sex ◽

Men And Women ◽

Diary Data ◽

Purposive Sample

Ample work stresses the interdependence of spouses’ psychological distress and that women are more influenced by their spouse’s distress than men. Yet previous studies have focused primarily on heterosexual couples, raising questions about whether and how this gendered pattern might unfold for men and women in same-sex marriages. We analyze 10 days of diary data from a purposive sample of men and women in same-sex and different-sex marriages ( n = 756 individuals from 378 couples) to examine psychological distress transmission between spouses and how this process may differ for men and women in same-sex and different-sex marriages. We find that women are more strongly influenced by their partners’ distress than men, regardless of whether they are married to a man or a woman, and that this relationship is particularly strong for women with male spouses.

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Communicative Doubt

Representing God ◽

10.23943/princeton/9780691193632.003.0006 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 117-139

Author(s):

Méadhbh McIvor

Keyword(s):

Good News ◽

Church Members ◽

Same Sex ◽

Political Debate ◽

Men And Women ◽

Same Sex Couples ◽

Law And Politics ◽

Christ Church ◽

Conservative Christian ◽

The Individual

This chapter studies the use of biblically inflected speech in political debate. It begins by examining the arguments raised by conservative Christian activists in their campaign to prevent the passage of the Marriage (Same-Sex Couples) Act 2013. Introducing the concept of 'communicative doubt', the chapter argues that there is a sense in which neither 'religious' nor 'secular' arguments are thought to be an appropriate means of conveying Biblical Truth to those who are not (yet) Christian, for what is needed is the intervention of a speaking God. It then explores this doubt as it manifested in the lives of two Christ Church members who had been involved in one of the Christian Legal Centre's earliest cases. Five years on, they remained unsure of whether or not it communicated the Good News they had hoped to share. These doubts, hesitations, and ambivalences speak to the contested place of public Christianity in contemporary England, and to the difficulties faced by those who insist that their faith must go public: the challenge of rendering Christianity legible not only to law and politics, but to the individual men and women who are subject to these worldly institutions.

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Couple Interventions for Same-Sex Couples

Handbook of Evidence-Based Mental Health Practice with Sexual and Gender Minorities ◽

10.1093/med-psych/9780190669300.003.0005 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 97-114

Author(s):

Christopher A. Pepping ◽

W. Kim Halford ◽

Anthony Lyons

Keyword(s):

Minority Stress ◽

Couple Therapy ◽

Evidence Base ◽

Future Research ◽

Relationship Education ◽

Heterosexual Couples ◽

Same Sex ◽

Same Sex Couples ◽

Future Research Directions

This chapter reviews the emerging field of couple interventions for same-sex couples. It outlines the evidence base for couple relationship education and couple therapy based on research with heterosexual couples. It reviews data pertaining to relationship stability and relationship satisfaction of same-sex couples and also the similarities and differences in the predictors of relationship outcomes between heterosexual and same-sex couples. The differences suggest modifications are required, including addressing the role of external influences on couple functioning, the role of dyadic coping to buffer effects of minority stress, non-monogamous relationships, and managing disclosure of one’s relationship. Currently, there is modest uptake of couple services among same-sex couples, and this chapter offers suggestions to enhance the relevance and inclusivity of couple interventions. It concludes by proposing a number of future research directions, including examining the efficacy of couple interventions for same-sex couples and evaluating innovations to increase same-sex couples’ access to services.

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Prejudice, Moral Progress, and Not Being on the Wrong Side of History

Who's the Bigot? ◽

10.1093/oso/9780190877200.003.0006 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 127-153

Author(s):

Linda C. McClain

Keyword(s):

White Supremacy ◽

Well Being ◽

Moral Progress ◽

Constitutional Interpretation ◽

Same Sex ◽

Majority Opinion ◽

Same Sex Couples ◽

Wrong Side ◽

The Supreme Court

This chapter argues that evaluating the arguments the parties made in Loving v. Virginia (1967), the iconic case in which the Supreme Court struck down Virginia’s anti-miscegenation law, aids in understanding puzzles about bigotry. Virginia attempted a modern, sociological defense of its racist law. Loving illustrates the role of generational moral progress in constitutional interpretation: laws justified by appeals to nature, God’s plan for the races, and children’s well-being were repudiated as rooted in racial prejudice, intolerance, and white supremacy. The chapter then considers Loving’s crucial (but contested) role in constitutional challenges to bars on same-sex marriage, first analyzing the successful challenge to Virginia’s defense of marriage law. It then analyzes the majority opinion in Obergefell v. Hodges, holding that same-sex couples have a fundamental right to marry; the dissenters argued Loving was inapt. The chapter concludes by discussing the role of moral progress and new insight in constitutional interpretation.

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Couple-Level Minority Stress and Mental Health among People in Same-Sex Relationships: Extending Minority Stress Theory

Society and Mental Health ◽

10.1177/2156869319884724 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

pp. 276-290 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Allen J. LeBlanc ◽

David M. Frost

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Minority Stress ◽

Depressive Symptomatology ◽

Well Being ◽

The United States ◽

Same Sex ◽

Stress Theory ◽

Individual Level ◽

Same Sex Couples ◽

Minority Stress Theory

We simultaneously examined the effects of individual- and couple-level minority stressors on mental health among people in same-sex relationships. Individual-level minority stressors emerge from the stigmatization of sexual minority individuals; couple-level minority stressors emerge from the stigmatization of same-sex relationships. Dyadic data from 100 same-sex couples from across the United States were analyzed with actor–partner interdependence models. Couple-level stigma was uniquely associated with nonspecific psychological distress, depressive symptomatology, and problematic drinking, net the effects of individual-level stigma and relevant sociodemographic controls. Analyses also show that couple-level minority stress played unique roles in critical stress processes of minority stress proliferation: minority stress expansion and minority stress contagion. The inclusion of couple-level stress constructs represents a useful extension of minority stress theory, enriching our capacity to deepen understandings of minority stress experience and its application in the study of well-being and health inequalities faced by vulnerable populations.

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