Marriage and Health

The Well-Being of Same-Sex Couples

Edited by Hui Liu, Corinne Reczek, and Lindsey Wilkinson

SERIES: Politics of Marriage and Gender: Global Issues in Local Contexts

Rutgers University Press

Studies have shown that married couples have better mental and physical health than unmarried people. Leading scholars and policy makers propose that marriage can provide similar benefits to people in both same-sex and different-sex relationships. Though research on the health and well-being of same-sex couples is a new and growing field, Marriage and Health: The Well-Being of Same-Sex Couples represents the forefront of marriage and health research and the far-reaching policy implications for the health of same-sex couples. This collection of essays presents new perspectives that address current opportunities and challenges faced by people in same-sex unions in multiple domains of well-being, including physical and mental health, social support, socialized behaviors, and stigmas. The book offers a broad view of same-sex couples’ experiences by examining not only marriage and civil unions, but also dating and cohabiting relationships as well as same-sex sexual experiences outside of relationships.

We are only at the beginning of understanding how marriage and other types of romantic unions influence mental and physical health for same-sex couples. The editors of Marriage and Health have deftly brought together the best evidence available to tell us what is currently known and where we need to go in the future. This volume serves as a guide to the most important questions, challenges, and strategic directions for research on same-sex relationships—all essential to protecting and maximizing the health and well-being of sexual minority populations. Debra Umberson, author of "Death of a Parent: Transition to a New Adult Identity"

Marriage and Health: The Well-Being of Same-Sex Couples is a welcome and overdue addition to the burgeoning literature on sexuality and health. By addressing a critical question—Does marriage matter for the well-being of those in sexual minority unions in similar ways as it does for those in heterosexual unions?—from multiple vantage points, this unique collection of cutting-edge studies is more than the sum of its parts and provides essential theoretical and empirical foundations for future research. It is my sincere hope that this important book will be widely read and stimulate a next generation of data collection and investigation. Andrew S. London, co-editor of "Life Course Perspectives on Military Service"

The editors should be commended for the breadth with which they treat the topic and the progress this collection represents in helping to empirically normalize same-sex marriage....Recommended. Choice

Hiu Liu is a professor of sociology at Michigan State University in East Lansing.

Corinne Reczek is an associate professor of sociology at Ohio State University in Columbus.

Lindsey Wilkinson is an associate professor of sociology at Portland State University, Oregon.

Series Foreword by Péter Berta

Introduction: The Health and Well-Being of Sexuality Minority Couples
Hui Liu, Corinne Reczek and Lindsey Wilkinson

Part I: Mental Health

Chapter 1: Serious Mental Illness in Same-Sex and Different-Sex Unions
Dustin Brown, Corinne Reczek and Hui Liu

Chapter 2: Well-Being during Time with a Partner among Men and Women in Same-Sex Unions
Sarah Marie Flood and Katherine Rose Genadek

Chapter 3: Consequences of Unequal Legal Recognition: Same-Sex Couples’ Experiences of Stress Prior to Obergefell v. Hodges
Eli Alston-Stepnitz, David M. Frost and Allen J. LeBlanc

Chapter 4: Postpartum Depression and Anxiety in Male-Partnered and Female-Partnered Sexual Minority Women: A Longitudinal Study
Abbie E. Goldberg, JuliAnna Z. Smith and Lori E. Ross

Part II: Health Behaviors

Chapter 5: Health and Health Behaviors among Same-Sex and Different-Sex Coupled Adults With and Without Children
Justin T. Denney, Jarron M. Saint Onge, Bridget K. Gorman and Patrick M. Krueger

Chapter 6: Couples’ Conjoint Work Hours and Health Behaviors: Do Gender and Sexual Identity Matter?
Wen Fan

Chapter 7: Union Status and Overweight/Obesity among Sexual Minority Men and Women
Zelma Oyarvide Tuthill, Bridget K. Gorman and Navya R. Kumar

Chapter 8: Same-Sex Contact and Alternative Medicine Usage among Older Adults
Lacey J. Ritter and Koji Ueno

Part III: Physical Health, Mortality and Health Care

Chapter 9: Activity Limitations Disparities between Same-Sex and Different-Sex Couples
Russell L. Spiker

Chapter 10: Same-Sex Unions and Adult Mortality Risk: A Nationally-Representative Analysis
Andrew Fenelon, Christina Dragon, Corinne Reczek and Hui Liu

Chapter 11: Access to Health Care for Partnered and Non-Partnered Sexual Minorities
Matt Ruther and Ning Hsieh

Chapter 12: Law and Same-Sex Couples’ Experiences of Childbirth
Emily Kazyak and Emma Finken

Chapter 13: Married in Texas: Findings from a LGBTQ Community Needs Assessment
Kara Sutton and Richard K. Scotch

Part IV: Relationship Quality, Experience and Identity

Chapter 14: Social Context and The Stability of Same-Sex and Different-Sex Relationships
Kara Joyner, Wendy Manning and Barbara Prince

Chapter 15: Same-Sex Marriage and Mental Health: The Role of Marital Quality
Sara Mernitz, Amanda Pollitt and Debra Umberson

Chapter 16: First Sexual Experience with a Same-Sex Partner in the United States: Evidence from a National Sample
Karin L. Brewster, Kathryn Harker Tillman and Giuseppina Valle Holway

Chapter 17: Two Sides of a Coin”: Nuances of Maternal Identity for Lesbian Mothers
Rachel L. Henry

Conclusion: Future Directions for Research on Health of Sexual Minority Couples
Corinne Reczek, Hui Liu and Lindsey Wilkinson

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