Stress in the Lives of Same-Sex Couples

Abstract

Due to the stigmatization of their relationships, people in same-sex couples are at risk for exposure to forms of social stress that those in different-sex couples are not. This chapter discusses how these “couple-level minority stressors,” which may be individually experienced as well as jointly experienced with a partner, may have deleterious effects and lead to relationship dissolution and divorce among same-sex couples. Moreover, it describes potential stress processes emanating from discrepancies in minority stress experiences and stress contagion between partners in same-sex relationships, which may contribute to relationship dissolution in previously unexamined ways. The chapter discusses the role resilience resources may play in same-sex couples’ experiences of minority stress, potentially mediating or moderating its effects on relationship quality, and concludes by considering how better understandings of minority stress in relational contexts can deepen emerging understandings of relationship dissolution in same-sex couples and inform psychological interventions for those seeking help.