Individuals in same-sex relationships maintain relational well-being despite the frequency and severity of heterosexism

ABSTRACT

Heterosexism represents a pervasive minority stressor for sexual minority individuals; however, the research presents mixed findings on the association between heterosexism and relational dynamics. Drawing from theories of minority stress and family stress, we examined how the frequency and severity of heterosexism connect to three dimensions of relationship well-being: relationship satisfaction, relationship commitment, and relationship maintenance. We collected survey data from 262 sexual minority individuals in same-sex relationships. Results show inconsistent associations between the frequency and severity of heterosexism and relationship well-being. The interaction between the frequency and severity of heterosexism was significantly associated with relationship commitment, but not relationship satisfaction or perceived maintenance. The findings of this study suggest that those who experience strong relational well-being may be resilient to distal minority stressors like heterosexism and that the distinction between the frequency and severity of heterosexism may be more empirically meaningful for cognitive dimensions for relational well-being. Practitioners should continue to attend to the nuanced ways in which minority stress may manifest beyond the romantic relationship.

KEYWORDS:

• Heterosexism
• minority stress
• discrimination
• same-sex relationships
• relationship quality
• relationship commitment

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program under Grant No. DGE – 1144245. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. Preparation of this article was also supported by a USDA/NIFA HATCH grant (ILLU-793-326) to the first author.

Notes on contributors

TeKisha M. Rice

TeKisha M. Rice is an NSF Pre-Doctoral Research Fellow and Doctoral Candidate at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Brian G. Ogolsky

Brian G. Ogolsky is an Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Ramona Faith Oswald

Ramona Faith Oswald is a Professor and Department Head at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.