Marriage and Health: The Well-Being of Same-Sex Couples

2021 ◽  
Vol 50 (6) ◽  
pp. 494-496
Author(s):  
Cara Bergstrom-Lynch
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Same Sex Couples ◽  
Marriage And Health

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

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.

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

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 276-290 ◽  
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.

scholarly journals Anticipatory Minority Stressors among Same-Sex Couples: A Relationship Timeline Approach

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mieke Beth Thomeer ◽  
Allen LeBlanc ◽  
David Frost ◽  
Kayla Bowen
Keyword(s):  
Life Events ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Daily Hassles ◽  
Minority Populations ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Relationship Duration ◽  
Same Sex Couples ◽  
Race Ethnicity ◽  
Mental And Physical Health ◽  
Insight Into

Abstract: We build on previous stress theories by drawing attention to the concept of anticipatory couple-level minority stressors (i.e., stressors expected to occur in the future that emanate from the stigmatization of certain relationship forms). A focus on anticipatory couple-level minority stressors brings with it the potential for important insight into vulnerabilities and resiliencies of people in same-sex relationships—the focus of our study. We use relationship timelines to examine stressors among a diverse sample of same-sex couples (N = 120). Respondents in same-sex relationships anticipated stressors that may not be unique to same-sex couples (e.g., purchasing a home together), but labeled many of their anticipatory stressors as reflecting the stigmatization of their same-sex relationship, in and of itself. Respondents rated anticipatory minority stressors as more stressful than other anticipatory stressors. Moreover, stressors varied by gender, age, and relationship duration, although not race/ethnicity or geographic site. This analysis is a preliminary step in examining how unique anticipatory couple-level minority stressors function as determinants of relationship quality, mental and physical health, and health disparities faced by sexual minority populations. Attempts to understand current stress levels should consider anticipatory stressors, alongside past and current life events, chronic strains, daily hassles, and minority stressors, as these processes are impossible to disentangle and may be consequential for current well-being. Cite as: Thomeer, Mieke Beth, Allen J. LeBlanc, David M. Frost, & Kayla Bowen. (2018). Anticipatory Minority Stressors among Same-Sex Couples: A Relationship Timeline Approach. Social Psychology Quarterly 81(2): 126-148

scholarly journals Conclusions

2021 ◽  
pp. 151-158
Author(s):  
Daniela Bandelli
Keyword(s):  
Social Impact ◽  
Social Values ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Single Issue ◽  
Same Sex Couples ◽  
Adult Participation ◽  
The Social ◽  
Legal Risks ◽  
Health And Well Being

AbstractThis conclusive chapter offers a few proposals to contribute to the necessary overcoming of the current polarization in the debate: adult-centric arguments could be renovated by focusing on the child as the protagonist of reproduction and representative of tomorrow’s humanity; adult participation in surrogacy could be understood as the result of decision-making influenced by social values of self-determination, with any support or condemnation of surrogacy being grounded on considerations about the social impact of surrogacy and child’s protection and not on the immediate personal benefits that it gives to the adults; the ideal goal of eliminating surrogacy can coexist with pragmatic restrictive regulatory initiatives; monitoring both the surrogates and children’s health and well-being, along with the quantification of surrogacy births are priority objectives to be achieved regardless of prohibitionist or regulatory orientations; inform women who are targets of recruitment about medical and legal risks and individual as well as social implications of surrogacy for their life and for children; single issue campaigns focused on the child and woman’s health can offer platforms of dialogue and mobilization for social movements which on other themes (e.g. abortion, same-sex couples parenting, and women empowerment) have different and even opposing views.

scholarly journals Evaluating The Economic Impact Of Marriage Versus Cohabitation In Same-Sex Couples Age 50+

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 876-876
Author(s):  
Setarreh Massihzadegan ◽  
Jan Mutchler
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Marital Status ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Economic Security ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Same Sex Couples

Abstract Utilizing the first set of 5-year American Community Survey data available since the United States’ legalization of same-sex marriage in mid-2015, this poster investigates the economic security of older adults (age 50+) in same-sex marriages compared to those in same-sex partnerships who are cohabiting but not married. Viewed through the lens of cumulative disadvantage theory, we consider differences in the economic circumstances of same-sex couples by gender and by geographic location. Findings point to gender differences in economic well-being, but relatively few differences based on marital status. For example, rates of low income are somewhat higher among female couples than among their male counterparts, but marital status differences are not substantial. These findings suggest that the benefits of being married that have long been recognized among older adults may not extend equally to same-sex couples. Findings are discussed with respect to the emerging salience of marriage within the LGBTQ older community, future research opportunities, and important policy implications.

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

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S797-S797
Author(s):  
Michael Garcia ◽  
Rachel Donnelly ◽  
Debra Umberson
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Reactivity ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Heterosexual Couples ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Daily Stressors ◽  
Daily Stress ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Same Sex Couples ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Gendered Patterns

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.

scholarly journals APPLYING MIXED-METHODS APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF SOCIAL TIES IN LATER LIFE

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S411-S411
Author(s):  
J Jill Suitor ◽  
Megan Gilligan
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Social Engagement ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Interpersonal Processes ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Same Sex Couples ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Impact

Abstract This symposium brings together a diverse set of studies applying mixed-methods approaches, with an emphasis on illustrating the ways in which such designs can provide greater understanding of interpersonal processes in the middle and later years. The papers span a wide range of relational contexts, including ties between parents and adult children, grandparents and grandchildren, and couples in gay, lesbian, heterosexual partnerships. They illustrate a variety of ways to combine quantitative and qualitative data collecting using surveys, in-depth interviews, timeline data, and technological devices. In the first paper, Silverstein and Bengtson present a study of continuity, change, and conflict across the generations regarding religion. The next two papers explore the impact of social relations on well-being. Fingerman and colleagues report findings from a study of social engagement and sedentary activities; and Suitor and colleagues investigate gender differences in the effects of mothers’ favoritism on adult children’s depressive symptoms. The final two papers focus on couples’ experiences when facing potentially demanding and/or challenging life circumstances. Thomeer and colleagues present findings from a study of same-sex couples in the context of marriage and parenthood; and Umberson and colleagues shed light on marital dynamics in same-sex and different-sex couples when one partner experiences psychological distress. This diverse set of studies provides a rich overview of the ways in which mixed-methods approaches can shed more light on patterns and consequences of relationships in adulthood than could be learned using single-method designs.

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