Personal, Relational, and Contextual Resources and Relationship Satisfaction in Same-Sex Couples

Abstract

Despite previous research findings that suggest that same-sex couples often experience unique stressors within their relationships, other findings indicate that same-sex couples demonstrate similar levels of relationship satisfaction as compared with heterosexual couples. The study described in this article was conducted to examine the extent to which various personal, relationship, and contextual resources may contribute to relationship satisfaction among individuals in same-sex couples. The findings indicated that individuals in same-sex couples may have more variability in the levels of support they receive from contextual resources. In addition, relationship resources were predictive of relationship satisfaction among the study participants, although personal and contextual resources did not contribute any unique variance to relationship satisfaction. The article concludes with implications for theory, practice, and research in couple and family counseling.