P. J. Lannutti

Widener University · Center for Human Sexuality Studies

Previous research with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and various sexually and gender diverse (LGBTQ+) people has largely highlighted how experiences of discrimination and marginalization, and mental health outcomes are related. However, it is important that researchers operate from a strength‐based approach to identify how aspects of...

Introduction Shifting sociopolitical landscapes may create doubts, questions, or concerns for individuals, especially those who hold a disenfranchised identity or are in marginalized relationships (Meyer in Psychology of Sexualities Review 7:81–90, 2016). As a result of political and societal opposition following the Supreme Court Obergefell v. Hod...

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals (hereafter people with minoritized sexual orientation and/or gender identities) have limited legal rights and access to resources because of their marginalized status in society. These limitations are associated with notable health disparities and increase experiences of minority stress. For those...

Coming out (CO) process represents an important milestone for bisexual identity formation and is negatively associated with internalized binegativity (IB). To our knowledge, no studies deepen this association considering the different forms of couples in which bisexual women are involved based on the partner’s gender (same/different gender couple)...

Zusammenfassung: Theoretischer Hintergrund: Trans*, inter* und nichtbinäre Personen erfahren Diskriminierung und weisen im Vergleich zur Gesamtpopulation eine höhere Prävalenz von affektiven und Angststörungen auf. Fragestellung: Diese präregistrierte Studie überprüft basierend auf dem Minderheiten-stressmodell den Zusammenhang zwischen Selbststigm...

Introduction Using qualitative data from a 4-year (2017–2020) anonymous trend longitudinal national online survey, this study examines the perceived impact of the Trump administration on U.S. LGBTQ + people. Methods Using an anonymous online survey, the question, “How do you feel the current U.S. administration is impacting the lives of LGBTQ + pe...

Evolutionary social science is having a renaissance. This volume showcases the empirical and theoretical advancements produced by the evolutionary study of romantic relationships. The editors assembled an international collection of contributors to trace how evolved psychological mechanisms shape strategic computation and behavior across the life s...

Over recent decades, a growing body of research has consistently emphasized the importance of parental support of one’s queer (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, nonbinary, etc.) identity to their mental health and overall well-being. Parent–queer child relationships have increasingly drawn scholarly attention, with particular interest in childre...

Queer adolescents experience compounding complications especially when they are estranged from their parents. Findings from a sample of 40 estranged queer adolescents revealed four triggers, five resilience processes, and three co-occurring relationships between the triggers and processes. Based on these findings, we advance the communication theor...

Investigations into the intimate relationships of sexual minorities are proliferating, but often adopt a deficit-oriented and US-centered perspective. In this tri-nation online study with sexual minority participants from Austria, Germany, and Switzerland (N = 571), we (i) assessed the construct validity of the German version of a well-known measur...

Previous research has shown that the experience of biphobic prejudice and violence seems to affect positive identity and relationship quality in bisexual people involved in same-sex and mixed-sex relationships. The present study investigates the relationship between Bisexual Positive Identity (BPI), Relationship Quality (RQ), and biphobic violence...

This in-depth critical review investigates the impact of COVID-19 on personal relationships from the start of the pandemic in early 2020 to September 2021. Research examining six themes are identified and described in detail: the impact of COVID-19 on (1) family and intimate relationships; (2) LGBTQ+ relationships; (3) how COVID-19 is linked to tec...

The field of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) relationship science has grown significantly over the past two decades, coinciding with rapid changes in the social acceptance of LGBTQ+ people. However, it is unclear to what extent the top two journals in relationship science, the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships and...

Investigations into the intimate relationships of sexual minorities are proliferating, but often adopt a deficit-oriented and US-centered perspective. In this tri-nation online study with sexual minority participants from Austria, Germany, and Switzerland (N = 571), we (i) assessed the construct validity of the German version of a well-known measur...

This article serves as the conclusion of the special issue entitled “Relationships in the time of COVID-19: Examining the effects of the global pandemic on personal relationships.” The special issue includes 29 research articles with authors and samples from 28 countries spanning all continents except Antarctica. Romantic relationships between two...

This study explores relationship maintenance, resilience, and other positive relational outcomes in the romantic relationships of a U.S. national sample of those in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and other sexual orientation and gender minority people (LGBTQ+; N = 1,303). Results support the central premise of the Theory of Resilience...

This introduction describes the background for the special issue entitled “Relationships in the Time of COVID-19: Examining the Effects of the Global Pandemic on Personal Relationships.” It also examines reasons for conducting interdisciplinary research on COVID-19 and personal relationships, and previews first articles published in the special iss...

A growing body of literature provides important insights into the meaning and impact of the right to marry a same-sex partner among sexual minority people. We conducted a scoping review to 1) identify and describe the psychosocial impacts of equal marriage rights among sexual minority adults, and 2) explore sexual minority women (SMW) perceptions o...

We call for an expansion of research on the family communication of people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and other diverse sexualities and gender identities (LGBTQ+), as well as sexual and gender minority people (SGM) who may not identify as LGBTQ+, such as those practicing polyamory. We provide direction on expanding...

The present investigation explored how individuals in heterosexual relationships process and respond to a romantic partner's imagined infidelity with someone of the same sex. Study 1 entailed a qualitative analysis of individuals’ reported reasons for their own or a friend's same-sex infidelity, revealing that individuals engage in same-sex infidel...

The Institute of Medicine has called for an increase in efforts to investigate the understudied area of LGBTQ health and relationships. This study furthers the research by illuminating social support predictors of positive relationship functioning and resilience from a large national sample of those in same-sex relationships (N = 1,303) who continu...

The incarcerated population is large and growing. Maintaining family connections during confinement is linked to positive outcomes, yet the family communication of incarcerated individuals is understudied. We examine the family communication of individuals incarcerated in an urban county jail for women. Four family communication themes were identif...

The present study investigated responses to imagined same-sex infidelity committed by a partner in a heterosexual relationship. The motivational theory of infidelity and research on communicative infidelity were used as guiding frameworks for exploring differences in perceptions of blame and intentionality as a result of varying motivations for eng...

Interdisciplinary edited volume focusing on the effects of the 2016 US presidential election on the LGBTQ community. Portion were previously published as a special issue of the Journal of GLBT Family Studies.

The goal of this study is to better understand the experiences of GLBTQ people who decided to marry, at least in part, because of the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Participants (N = 158) responded to an online survey and described their reasons for marrying and the meanings that they associate with their marriage within the context of the 2016 U...

This study examines two aspects of the experiences that committed, unmarried same-sex couples have with social network members (friends and family members). The study examines how remaining unmarried affected the couples’ relationships with social network members and the discursive strategies couples use when discussing their relationship with soci...

The Internet is the preferred source of health information followed by healthcare providers, friends and family, print media, and television (Baxter & Egbert, 2008). Yet, previous research about online sexual health resources for LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, queer) groups, especially lesbian and bisexual (LB) women, primarily consi...

In an effort to encourage meaningful reflection and communication about sex, we have turned to top scholars across many disciplines to compile research about the most salient issues regarding communication about sex. We asked these experts to write in a way that still advances scholarly ideas about sexuality and communication—thus making a contribu...

The study of interpersonal communication in LGBT relationships has been influenced by changes in the social context of these relationships. Early research on communication in LGBT relationships focused on the effects of stigma on LGBT communication and the process and effects of “coming out.” Further research has examined characteristics of same-se...

The present study explores emotional, relational, and communicative responses to different-sex and same-sex infidelity in heterosexual romantic relationships. Two-hundred and eighty-five men and women completed an online survey. Individuals were asked to read a scenario in which an imagined heterosexual partner engages in infidelity with a differen...

Although research has highlighted potential benefits social media sites present for the bereaved (Carroll & Landry, 2010; Sanderson & Cheong, 2010), there is also the potential for problematic effects (Kern, Forman, & Gil-Egui, 2013). This study examines the ways in which the social networking site Facebook was helpful and unhelpful to participants...

This study extends a portion of Alberts, Yoshimura, Rabby, and Loschiavo's (20051. Alberts , J. K. , Yoshimura , C. G. , Rabby , M. , & Loschiavo , R. ( 2005 ). Mapping the topography of couples’ daily conversation . Journal of Social and Personal Relationships , 22 , 299 – 322 . doi: 10.1177/0265407505050941 [CrossRef], [Web of Science ®]View...

This study investigated negative emotions surrounding emotional support provision and proposed an extension of appraisal-based models of emotional support. The model proposed that emotional challenge and support self-efficacy would be related, and both would contribute to willingness to provide emotional support. Participants (N = 119) reported two...

Communication Privacy Management theory (CPM) is used as a theoretical framework to describe married or engaged same-sex couples' (N = 48) regulation of their private information during interactions with family members about legally recognized same-sex marriage (SSM). Couples' described how SSM triggered privacy rule change among family members. Co...

The visibility of female –female kissing in the media and on college campuses has increased. Yet how female –female kissing influences perceptions of the women engaging in it has not been examined. College students’ (N = 164) understanding of female –female kissing and female –male kissing in an otherwise heterosexual context was examined. Men perc...

This study examines older same-sex couples’ experiences with legally recognized same-sex marriage (SSM). Thirty-six same-sex couples who ranged in age from 56 to 73 (M = 63.75) participated in semi-standardized interviews about their reaction to SSM and the surrounding debates, the impact of SSM on their relationship and social network, and their d...

In this study, we examined young adults' conversational descriptions of satisfying and unsatisfying sexual conversations with a romantic partner and the relational and sexual outcomes. We coded participants' responses for content, when and where conversations occurred, and the results of conversations. Most often, conversations occurred in residenc...

This study examines same-sex couples' attractions to marriage, obstacles that challenged them when considering marriage, and the ways they overcame such obstacles. Participants (N = 263) were members of same-sex couples that were either legally married or engaged to be married. A Web-based survey asked participants to describe the discussions betwe...

This paper reports the results of three studies conducted to develop, refine, and validate a scale which assessed heterosexual adults' attitudes toward same-sex marriage, the Attitude Toward Same-Sex Marriage Scale (ASSMS). The need for such a scale is evidenced in the increasing importance of same-sex marriage in the political arena of the United...

Alcohol consumption's influence on perceptions of social behavior increases the chances of misunderstandings and negative consequences in sexual and flirtatious interactions, but previous alcohol studies have not specifically focused on women's perceptions of men's flirtatious nonverbal behavior. Using a field-administered questionnaire, this study...

This study examines the ways in which legally recognized same-sex marriage affects the understanding of same-sex romantic relationships for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) individuals. Participants (N = 288) responded to an open-ended Web-based survey asking them to describe how legally recognized same-sex marriage influenced their...

This study examines the ways in which legally recognized same-sex marriage (SSM) has impacted the lives of cross-sexual orientation same-sex couples. Twenty-six, female-female couples, consisting of one bisexual and one lesbian partner, who were married or engaged to be married in Massachusetts participated in instant messenger interviews about the...

This study examines the influence of aspects of naturally occurring instructor self-disclosure (intent, amount, positiveness, depth, and honesty) on students’ evaluations of their current instructor. Female college students (N = 333) completed measures of their evaluation of their instructor and perceptions of the instructor's self-disclosure in th...

This study examines how consuming alcohol differentially affects the communicative behavior and perceptions of high and low social self-esteem (SSE) women as they engage in a brief interaction with a flirtatious male. Alcohol myopia theory proposes that alcohol affects behavior when it blocks a person's normal inhibitions about enacting a behavior....

This study examines how gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) men and women assign meaning to legally recognized same-sex marriage and its impact on their understanding of the LGBT community. Open-ended web-based survey questions asked participants (N = 288) to consider the ways in which legally recognizing same-sex marriage may positivel...

This study examines strategies employed by women when refusing an unwanted request for increased intimacy. Women (N = 76) orally produced refusal messages to unwanted requests from hypothetical dating partners and friends. The influence of relationship type, request persistence, and alcohol consumption on refusal strategies was examined. Approximat...

The expressed goals of women's refusals to unwanted requests for increased intimacy were examined. It was hypothesized that alcohol consumption would influence expressed goals such that intoxicated women would be less likely to express concern for secondary goals (protection of self image, requester image, and relationship) than would sober women....

Alcohol myopia theory and relational framing theory were used to explain how alcohol consumption affects perceptions of sexual scenarios. In a within-subjects design, participants (N = 51) evaluated scenarios that emphasized consen-sual cues only and scenarios with consensual and nonconsensual sexual behaviors (mixed cues). Participants read both s...

Alcohol myopia theory and relational framing theory were used to explain how alcohol consumption affects perceptions of sexual scenarios. In a within-subjects design, participants (N = 51) evaluated scenarios that emphasized consensual cues only and scenarios with consensual and nonconsensual sexual behaviors (mixed cues). Participants read both sc...

This study examines and compares how males and females in same‐sex and opposite‐sex romantic relationships experience and express romantic jealousy. Undergraduates at a large, southern university and visitors at a metropolitan Pride Celebration (N = 149) completed measures assessing cognitive and emotional jealousy experience, jealousy expression,...

Although most romantic relationships will dissolve, few studies have examined the relationship formed between dating partners after their romance terminates. This study examines the post‐dissolutional relationships experienced by participants who were involved in same‐sex (N = 298) and opposite‐sex (N = 272) romantic relationships. The degrees to w...

This study expands the literature on the educational role of immediacy by exploring the relationship between touch during student/professor interactions and students’ evaluations of the professor and the interaction. Specifically, the study attempts to explain the positive and negative influences of student/professor touch on student interactions f...

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Georgia, 1997. Directed by Jennifer L. Monahan. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 97-102).