Couple-level Minority Stress: An Examination of Same-sex Couples’ Unique Experiences

David M. Frost; Allen J. LeBlanc; Brian de Vries; Eli Alston-Stepnitz; Rob Stephenson; Cory Woodyatt

doi:10.1177/0022146517736754

journal article Oct 16, 2017

Couple-level Minority Stress: An Examination of Same-sex Couples’ Unique Experiences

David M. Frost

Allen J. LeBlanc Brian de Vries

Eli Alston-Stepnitz Rob Stephenson

Cory Woodyatt

Journal of Health and Social Behavior Vol. 58 No. 4 pp. 455-472 · SAGE Publications

View at Publisher Save 10.1177/0022146517736754

Abstract

Social stress resulting from stigma, prejudice, and discrimination—“minority stress”—negatively impacts sexual minority individuals’ health and relational well-being. The present study examined how being in a same-sex couple can result in exposure to unique minority stressors not accounted for at the individual level. Relationship timeline interviews were conducted with 120 same-sex couples equally distributed across two study sites (Atlanta and San Francisco), gender (male and female), and relationship duration (at least six months but less than three years, at least three years but less than seven years, and seven or more years). Directed content analyses identified 17 unique couple-level minority stressors experienced within nine distinct social contexts. Analyses also revealed experiences of dyadic minority stress processes (stress discrepancies and stress contagion). These findings can be useful in future efforts to better understand and address the cumulative impact of minority stress on relational well-being and individual health.

Topics

No keywords indexed for this article. Browse by subject →

References

67

[1]

10.18574/nyu/9780814791141.001.0001

[2]

10.1037/a0018165

[3]

10.2307/352378

[4]

Brooks Virginia (1981)

[5]

10.1606/1044-3894.799

[6]

Social Relationships and Health.

Sheldon Cohen

American Psychologist 10.1037/0003-066x.59.8.676

[7]

10.1037/a0014564

[8]

Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence against Women of Color

Kimberle Crenshaw

Stanford Law Review 10.2307/1229039

[9]

10.1016/j.alcr.2016.07.002

[10]

10.2307/2676357

[11]

10.1111/jasp.12252

[12]

10.1177/0146167215594592

[13]

10.1007/978-0-306-48247-2_1

[14]

10.1177/0265407510373260

[15]

Social Stigma and its Consequences for the Socially Stigmatized

David M. Frost

Social and Personality Psychology Compass 10.1111/j.1751-9004.2011.00394.x

[16]

Stigma and intimacy in same-sex relationships: A narrative approach.

David M. Frost

Journal of Family Psychology 10.1037/a0022374

[17]

10.1177/1368430216642028

[18]

10.1037/ort0000024

[19]

10.1007/s10865-013-9523-8

[20]

10.1037/a0012844

[21]

10.1177/1049732311420580

[22]

Goffman Erving (1959)

[23]

Goffman Erving (1963)

[24]

10.1177/002214650804900405

[25]

10.1177/0022146512444289

[26]

Multiple Disadvantaged Statuses and Health

Eric Joy Denise

Journal of Health and Social Behavior 10.1177/0022146514521215

[27]

10.1111/j.1741-3729.2002.00028.x

[28]

10.1177/0963721414523775

[29]

10.2105/ajph.2009.168815

[30]

10.1525/srsp.2006.3.1.33

[31]

Three Approaches to Qualitative Content Analysis

Hsiu-Fang Hsieh, Sarah E. Shannon

Qualitative Health Research 10.1177/1049732305276687

[32]

Institute of Medicine. 2011. “The Health of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender People: Building a Foundation for Better Understanding.” Washington, DC: National Academies Press.

[33]

10.2307/2095420

[34]

10.1136/jech.2005.040410

[35]

10.1007/s13524-013-0278-1

[36]

10.1111/j.0022-2445.2004.00060.x

[37]

10.1080/00918369.2015.1073046

[38]

10.1111/jomf.12160

[39]

10.1016/s0277-9536(97)00002-6

[40]

10.1177/0146167205278710

[41]

10.2105/ajph.91.11.1869

[42]

10.2307/2137286

[43]

10.1037/0033-2909.129.5.674

[44]

Meyer Ilan H. (2013)

[45]

10.1007/s13178-011-0063-0

[46]

10.1016/j.socscimed.2008.03.012

[47]

10.1037/a0014587

[48]

Milkie Melissa A. (2010)

[49]

10.1177/0146167206288281

[50]

10.1177/0265407506060179

Showing 50 of 67 references

Cited By

105

Parenthood and Well‐Being: A Decade in Review

Kei Nomaguchi, Melissa A. Milkie · 2020

Journal of Marriage and the Family

Comparative Couple Stability: Same-sex and Male-female Unions in the United States

Eric Ketcham, Neil G. Bennett · 2019

Socius: Sociological Research for a...

Metrics

105

Citations

67

References

Details

Published: Oct 16, 2017
Vol/Issue: 58(4)
Pages: 455-472
License: View

Authors

D

David M. Frost

University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey, UK; University College London, London, UK

A

Allen J. LeBlanc

San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA, USA

B

Brian de Vries

San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA, USA

E

Eli Alston-Stepnitz

University of California–Davis, Davis, CA, USA

R

Rob Stephenson

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

C

Cory Woodyatt

Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA

Funding

National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Award: 1R01HD070357

Cite This Article

David M. Frost, Allen J. LeBlanc, Brian de Vries, et al. (2017). Couple-level Minority Stress: An Examination of Same-sex Couples’ Unique Experiences. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 58(4), 455-472. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022146517736754

Couple-level Minority Stress: An Examination of Same-sex Couples’ Unique Experiences

You May Also Like