A Comparison Between Gay And Heterosexual Couples Finds Equal Level Of Commitment And Relationship Satisfaction

A Comparison Between Gay And Heterosexual Couples Finds Equal Level Of Commitment And Relationship Satisfaction

22 Jan 2008 Same-sex couples are just as committed in their romantic relationships as heterosexual couples, say researchers who have studied the quality of adult relationships and healthy development. Their finding disputes the stereotype that couples in same-sex relationships are not as committed as their heterosexual counterparts and are therefore not as psychologically healthy. These results are from two studies featured in the January issue of Developmental Psychology, published by the American Psychological Association. This issue includes a special section that examines sexual orientation across the lifespan. Both studies compared same-sex couples with opposite-sex couples on a number of developmental and relationship factors. The first study examined whether committed same-sex couples differ from engaged and married opposite-sex couples in how well they interacted and how satisfied they were with their partners. Evidence has shown that positive interactions improve the quality of relationships in ways that foster healthy adult development. Researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign compared 30 committed gay male and 30 committed lesbian couples with 50 engaged heterosexual couples and 40 older married heterosexual couples, as well as with dating heterosexual couples. All the partners responded to a questionnaire that documented how positively they interacted with one another on a day to day basis. The couples were also observed during a laboratory task and were monitored for distress by skin conductance and heart rate. Results showed that same-sex relationships were similar to those of opposite-sex couples in many ways. All had positive views of their relationships but those in the more committed relationships (gay and straight) resolved conflict better than the heterosexual dating couples. And lesbian couples worked together especially harmoniously during the laboratory tasks. The notion that committed same-sex relationships are "atypical, psychologically immature, or malevolent contexts of development was not supported by our findings," said lead author Glenn I. Roisman, PhD. "Compared with married individuals, committed gay males and lesbians were not less satisfied with their relationships." Furthermore, said Roisman, "Gay males and lesbians in this study were generally not different from their committed heterosexual counterparts on how well they interacted with one another, although some evidence emerged the lesbian couples were especially effective at resolving conflict." In the second study, researchers from the University of Washington, San Diego State University and the University of Vermont wanted to examine how sexual orientation and legal status affected relationship quality. To do so, they followed 65 male and 138 female same-sex couples with civil unions, 23 male and 61 female same-sex couples not in civil unions and 55 heterosexual married couples over a three-year period. One member of each heterosexual couple was a sibling to a member of a civil union couple. Both partners in all of the couples answered questions regarding their demographics, status of their relationship, number of children, sexual behavior, frequency of contact with their parents with and without their partners and perceived social support. Partners in same-sex relationships also answered questions regarding disclosure of their sexual orientation to their family, peers and work associates. The researchers found that same-sex couples were similar to heterosexual couples on most relationships variables, and that the legalized status of a relationship did not seem to be the overriding factor affecting same-sex relationships. Despite the legal status of their relationships, the civil union couples showed no differences on any of the relationship measures from the same-sex couples who were in committed relationships but not in civil unions. "This may be because those couples in Vermont who sought out the legal protection of a civil union might have legalized their relationship more for symbolic value than for commitment reasons, which did not affect their day-to-day interactions," said lead author Kimberly F. Balsam, PhD. However, the same sex-couples who were not in civil unions were more likely to have ended their relationships compared to those couples in same-sex civil unions or heterosexual marriages. This suggests that the protections afforded by a legalized relationship may impact same-sex relationships, something the study's authors plan to follow up on in future research, said Balsam. The findings also showed that same-sex couples, regardless of civil union status, were more satisfied with their relationships compared to married heterosexual couples. Same-sex couples reported more positive feelings toward their partners and less conflict than heterosexual married couples, said the authors. They theorized that there may be societal pressures and norms, as well as the presence of legal status as a couple, which may contribute to heterosexual couples staying together even when they are not happy. Alternatively, most long-term same-sex couples have to stay together by their own will and hard work since they don't have society's forces on their side, Balsam added. This was the first study to follow same-sex couples in legalized unions over a period of time. This type of design allows the researchers to monitor changes in the relationships and compare them with changes experienced by both same-sex couples not in civil unions and heterosexual couples. All the couples were comparable with respect to race/ethnicity and age at the time of the study. ----------------------------
Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.----------------------------

STUDY: Adult Romantic Relationships as Contexts of Human Development: A Multimethod Comparison of Same-Sex Couples with Opposite-Sex Dating, Engaged, and Married Dyads," Glenn I. Roisman, PhD, Eric Clausell, MA, Ashley Holland, MA, Keren Fortuna, MA, and Chryle Elieff, PhD, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Developmental Psychology, Vol. 44, No. 1. Full text of the article is available from the APA Public Affairs Office or at http://www.apa.org/journals/releases/dev44191.pdf

STUDY: "Three-Year Follow-Up of Same-Sex Couples Who Had Civil Unions in Vermont, Same-Sex Couples Not in Civil Unions, and Heterosexual Married Couples," Kimberly F. Balsam, PhD and Theodore P. Beauchaine, PhD, University of Washington; Esther D. Rothblum, PhD, San Diego State University; Sondra E. Solomon, PhD, University of Vermont; Developmental Psychology, Vol. 44, No. 1. Full text of the article is available from the APA Public Affairs Office or at http://www.apa.org/journals/releases/dev441102.pdf

The American Psychological Association (APA), in Washington, DC, is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States and is the world's largest association of psychologists. APA's membership includes more than 148,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisions in 54 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance psychology as a science, as a profession and as a means of promoting health, education and human welfare. Source: Pam Willenz American Psychological Association

Argentine gay couple defies country's civil union ban

Argentine gay couple defies country's civil union ban

Braces for legal battleBUENOS AIRES (AP) Jan 21, 2:28 PM
Two leaders of Argentina's leading homosexual rights organization were married Monday in Madrid in defiance of their country's ban on gay marriage.Cesar Cigliutti and Marcelo Suntheim said they would demand legal recognition of their marriage in Argentina."We came to Spain because there is a marriage law here that allows the union of homosexuals and in Argentina there isn't," Cigliutti, president of the Argentine Homosexual Community, told The Associated Press from Madrid. The newlyweds celebrated with friends Monday before a honeymoon in Egypt.The Madrid wedding was made possible by Suntheim's dual citizenship in Argentina and Germany _ allowing him to marry within the European Union. They chose Spain for its cultural similarities to Argentina.Although Argentina does not recognize gay marriage, the Buenos Aires legislature approved a law in 2002 permitting same-sex civil unions, granting gay couples in the Argentine capital economic and family rights similar to those of heterosexual couples.Similar laws are also in place in the Patagonian province of Rio Negro and a small city in the province of Cordoba. Uruguay is the only country in Latin America that has legalized gay civil unions nationwide.Buenos Aires has undergone a gay tourism boom in the past five years, rivaling Rio de Janeiro as the unofficial "gay capital" of South America. The continent's first luxury gay hotel opened in the city in late October.APIMGBut past attempts by homosexuals to marry in Argentina have been rejected by the judicial system in this predominantly Roman Catholic country.Cigliutti said he and Suntheim, secretary of the Argentine Homosexual Community, will have to fight for recognition in court."It's not going to be easy ... but we're already married, Spain recognizes us," said Cigliutti. "We want Argentina to recognize us as well."Same-sex civil unions have recently been recognized by Mexico City, the Mexican state of Coahuila and Brazil's Rio Grande do Sul state.

Gay South Florida www.miamiherald.com/gay

"Cuban law may recognise same-sex partners, say officials"

BY GEMMA PRITCHARD, PinkNews.co.uk
The Cuban Communist Party is considering granting legal recognition to same-sex unions, as health officials prepare to authorise sex-change operations, the director of the Cenesex sex education centre in Cuba has said.
The proposed change to Cuban family law would put members of same-sex unions on a par with heterosexual couples, psychologist Mariela Castro, pictured, who is the daughter of acting President Raul Castro and niece of Fidel, told EFE.
Cenesex, which was founded in 1989 as a department of the Public Health Ministry, approached Cuba's parliament two years ago with a proposal to overhaul the 1975 Family Code to recognise the rights of gays, lesbians and transsexuals. But it is the Communist Party that will decide whether the proposal becomes law.
"We are receiving suggestions and debating adjusting the proposal so it is more flexible and has more chance of being approved," Mariela Castro told EFE.
The principal needs of Cuban homosexuals "are related to the right to their recognition as consensual couples, as non-matrimonial couples, but that authorities recognise their property and inheritance rights in those non-legalized unions," she said."That is their principal interest. They are not interested in marriage, they are not interested in adoption, because in Cuba there are hardly any children to adopt."
She added that besides legal recognition, gays, lesbians and transsexuals in Cuba want respect: "Let no one feel the right to humiliate them, nor harm them, nor exclude or reject them, that we strengthen within the family this ethic of accepting everyone and of not being discriminated against for sexual orientation."
The Public Health Ministry in Cuba is currently in the process of approving regulations that would allow sex-change operations.
Mariela Castro said that a team of Cuban physicians is already in training to perform such procedures.
In an interview with EFE last August, the 45-year-old psychologist said her struggle for the equality of the sexes and gay rights would "enrich the Cuban Revolution."
But she added that the task is not an easy one in a "patriarchal" society where many remember the UMAP labour camps where homosexuals and the ideologically suspect were interned in the late 1960s

UVM Hosts Heated Same Sex Marriage Forum

UVM Hosts Heated Same Sex Marriage Forum

Burlington, Vermont - January 19, 2008
The issue of same-sex marriage is reemerging as a hot button issue this year. A state legislative commission is expected to present its findings and recommendations on the issue to the legislature later this spring. Saturday, a group that opposes same sex unions, held an open forum at the University of Vermont.
More than a hundred people filled the seats of a UVM ballroom for a lively and very heated forum about the legality of same sex marriage.
Within an an hour, many of those seats were empty. Some had turned their backs on the panelists, and others were expressing outrage.
The panelists displayed graphs and studies that support traditional marriage between a man and a woman. They say science proves that children raised by a mother and father do better in school and end up leading a happier life than children who are not. "We get our strongest children, when they grow up in intact married families. The data is now overwhelming," said Dr. Patrick Fagan with the Family Research Council.
"There are some studies that conclude that there are no differences in the outcomes of children raised by same sex couples as opposed to married mother, father couples. Those studies are subject to serious challenge in terms of their methodology," said Monte Stewart with the Marriage Law Foundation.
But much of the crowd was not convinced. "The presentation was completely one sided. The research presented was clearly flawed and skewed to make a point," said Beth Freeman, a Vermont Law School Student.
"They're trying to link two things together. On one hand, they're trying to say intact families do the best and on the other hand, if you were to expand the privileges of family to two people of the same gender, it would somehow change marriage. I can't quite make sense of it," said Larry Rudiger, a UVM Faculty Member.
The forum was sponsored by the Vermont Marriage Advisory Council, a Rutland based group that was created earlier this month. The group accuses the Vermont Commission on Family Recognition and Protection, The legislative group that's taken up the issue of same-sex marriage in Vermont, of being biased in favor of gay marriage. They hope forums like these will convince all Vermonters that more open and balanced discussion is needed on the topic of same sex marriage before the commission makes any recommendations.

American Chronicle | Gay Relationships - Straight Marriages: Comparison Wars

Gay Relationships - Straight Marriages: Comparison Wars



January 19, 2008
John Cloud, a writer for the Times Magazine, recently penned an article about gay relationships. Mr. Cloud, himself an openly gay man, first tells of the breakup of his own seven year relationship the year before, then delves into what he calls the existing "academic research on relationships" to fill out his theme that gays and lesbians may be somehow "different" from straights in their relationship dynamics.

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INDYGay-wed ban won't get hearing | IndyStar.com

INDY Gay-wed ban won't get hearing IndyStar.com

By Mary Beth Schneider
mary.beth.schneider@indystar.com
January 18, 2008
A proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriages in Indiana likely was dealt a fatal blow today when a key lawmaker said he would not give the issue a hearing.
Rep. Scott Pelath, D-Michigan City, who is chairman of the House Rules and Legislative Procedure Committee, said today that the most urgent issue facing the state is property taxes, not same-sex marriage, which already is banned by Indiana law.
“I’m not planning on having a hearing,” Pelath said. “The short session (of the legislature) was designed to deal with emergencies. We have a very serious problem with the property tax system, and we don’t have any gay marriages in Indiana.”The Senate committee plans to debate the amendment Thursday, but Eric Miller, who has pushed for passage of the amendment as founder of the conservative group Advance America, called that “disingenuous.”The legislature, he said, is dealing with plenty of issues besides property tax reform and has the time to debate and vote on this amendment before its March 14 deadline.“There are hundreds of bills being reviewed by a variety of committees,” he said. “Property taxes are the most important thing, but I’d view the marriage amendment as very important as well.”The bill is called House Joint Resolution 8 in the Democrat-controlled House; it is Senate Joint Resolution 7 in the Republican-controlled Senate.Turner said he is exploring options to try to get the bill a vote by the full House. But House rules state that a bill may not be called back from committee. The only route to a vote by the full House, apparently, is approval by a committee. To become part of Indiana’s Constitution, the proposed amendment must pass two separately elected legislatures and then be approved by voters statewide.The proposed amendment, which declares that marriage in Indiana is defined only as the union between one man and one woman, overwhelmingly passed the Indiana Senate and House in 2005.A new legislature was elected in November 2006, and it voted on the amendment in 2007. While the Senate approved it 39-10, the House Rules committee deadlocked 5-5, and the amendment was dead for the year.If it does not pass this year, the process must begin anew, and the earliest it could be on the ballot for voters to have the final say is 2012.The amendment died last year after encountering resistance from representatives of Indiana businesses who were concerned it would jeopardize their ability to recruit employees and offer domestic partner benefits. Since then, the Senate had been reluctant to take the lead.“There is little use to move it forward if the House is simply going to block further consideration,” said Sen. Brandt Hershman, R-Wheatfield, before the session started earlier this month.Today, Hershman, who is sponsoring the amendment in the Senate, said that despite the House’s lack of action, he’s glad the proposal will get a Senate hearing.“The Senate has endorsed this amendment three times in very strong bipartisan fashion,” he said. “I’d anticipate a similar outcome this time. As to the House, I can’t speculate (on what will happen.)”Walter Botich, legislative chairman of Indiana Equality, a gay rights organization, said he wasn’t surprised that the Senate would give the bill a hearing, but he agrees with Pelath: “There are better things for the state to be worrying about.”He said public support for the issue has been dwindling, and Pelath agreed.“This is an issue that jumped the shark,” Pelath said, using a common phrase for an idea that has come and gone.A November poll for The Indianapolis Star and WTHR (Channel 13) showed that 49 percent of Hoosiers support the amendment, down from 56 percent in 2005.

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Puerto Rico amnedment would block same-sex unions

Puerto Rico amendment would block same-sex unions
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rican lawmakers are expected to soon take up a proposal that would block any attempt to permit same-sex marriages in the U.S. island territory. Resolution 99, which would authorize a public referendum on a constitutional amendment defining marriage as only between a man and a woman, has passed in the Senate and will be taken up in the House of Representatives during the legislative session that begins Monday. The measure, which does not require the signature of the governor, is expected to pass although the date of the vote remains undetermined. Critics say the proposal would also prevent Puerto Rican lawmakers from adopting any measures to allow civil unions between men and women or to grant them the same legal status as married couples. Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila last week criticized the proposal as unnecessary, because local laws already establish that marriage is only between a man and a woman.