Amanda M. Pollitt’s research while affiliated with Northern Arizona University and other places

Understanding the link between intimate partner violence and relationship satisfaction is important because of the prospective links between this type of satisfaction and mental and physical health. The need to better understand experiences of intimate violence among plurisexual people (those who experience sexual and/or romantic attraction to more than one gender) is highlighted by the fact that they disproportionately experience higher levels of intimate partner violence and report poorer romantic relationship quality than both heterosexual and lesbian/gay people (i.e., monosexual people, or people who are only attracted to one sex/gender). Identity abuse, a form of psychological abuse based in stigmatizing someone’s sexual identity, can be particularly detrimental for relationship quality among plurisexual people, who experience stigma from monosexual people, although this may vary across gender identity. In the current study, we examined how experiences of identity abuse were associated with relationship satisfaction among a sample of 538 partnered plurisexual young adults, focusing on differences by gender identity. Identity abuse was associated with poorer relationship satisfaction, even after accounting for other forms of intimate partner violence. Results suggest that identity abuse can be particularly harmful for relationship quality; however, this association held for cisgender women and transgender/nonbinary adults but not cisgender men. The findings of the current study suggest the importance of examining how stigma can occur within plurisexual people’s romantic relationships.

Cohabitation and marriage are critical milestones during the transition to adulthood; however, there is limited research on the timing of young adults’ first same-sex unions. There is some evidence that same-sex unions may be delayed, particularly for men. Further, formation of both same- and different-sex dating relationships, common among sexual minority young adults, may also extend to cohabitation and marriage. We used the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health to predict the timing of a first romantic union, defined as a cohabitation or marriage, among sexual minority young adults. We then distinguished between women and men and the timing of a different-sex versus a same-sex union. Compared with heterosexual young adults, lesbian and gay young adults entered a union at later ages (driven by men), whereas bisexual young adults entered a union at younger ages (driven by women). Lesbian and gay young adults who entered a first union with a same-sex partner did so at later ages than those who entered a first union with a different-sex partner. Results suggest that patterns of sexual minority dating relationship formation might extend to unions.

Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, this study contrasted levels of Allostatic Load at the baseline and change observed between the age 20s and 30s, among self-identified Lesbians/Gays/Bisexuals and heterosexuals with non-heterosexual attraction/behavior (discordant heterosexuals), against heterosexuals without (concordant heterosexuals). In addition, the study tested if Allostatic Load differs for each of the sexual orientation group differs jointly or independently of gender non-conformity. The study found no Allostatic Load elevation for self-identified non-heterosexual men and women. For women only, a significantly greater elevation of Allostatic Load is observed among discordant heterosexuals. Independently, Allostatic Load is found higher for females appearing more androgynous. The findings suggest expanding the current scope of sexual minority research to consider the relevance of minority stress to those without a LGB identity, who may be exposed to stress from disparate sources related to their gender identity.

The COVID-19 pandemic has both highlighted and worsened existing health inequities among communities of color and structurally vulnerable populations. Community Health Workers, inclusive of Community Health Representatives (CHW/Rs) have entered the spotlight as essential to COVID-19 prevention and control. To learn about community experiences and perspectives related to COVID-19 and inform CHW/R workforce capacity building efforts, a series of focus groups were conducted with CHW/Rs throughout Arizona at two time points in 2021. Throughout the data collection and analysis process, researchers and community partners engaged in ongoing and open dialogue about what CHW/Rs on the ground were reporting as priority community concerns, needs, and challenges. Thus, CHW/Rs informed the development of culturally and linguistically relevant health education messages, materials, and training for CHW/Rs. In this community case study, we detail the efforts of partnership between a statewide CHW professional association and an academic research team that facilitated rapid decision-making and knowledge sharing to create community-grounded tools and resources supportive of CHW/R workforce capacity building in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Family acceptance is a crucial component of healthy development during adolescence, especially for sexual and gender minority youth (SGMY) who often fear rejection from family members. Studies focused on SGMY family environments often utilize broad measures that fail to capture SGMY-specific aspects of family acceptance and rejection. Less research has considered how the measurement of family acceptance and rejection might differ depending on whether SGMY have disclosed their sexual and/or gender identities to their parents. We used data from a national nonprobability sample of 9,127 SGMY in the United States who had either disclosed (n = 6,683) or not disclosed (n = 2,444) their sexual and/or gender identities to parents to test the factor structure of an eight-item measure of family acceptance and rejection and differences by disclosure status. A two-factor, negatively correlated model reflecting constructs of family acceptance and family rejection was equivalent across disclosure groups. Youth who had disclosed their identity reported greater acceptance and less rejection and showed a stronger negative association between the two constructs than nondisclosed youth. Family acceptance, but not rejection, had higher variability among disclosed youth than nondisclosed youth. Results suggest that the family environments of SGMY are simultaneously characterized by accepting and rejecting behaviors. Though families of disclosed youth appear to be more accepting and less rejecting, the experiences of these youth are complex. Findings suggest that research on SGMY family environment must consider both supportive and undermining behaviors and that the measures assessed here operate similarly for youth based on disclosure. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

In this chapter, we focus on how a gender-as-relational perspective (Fox & Murry, 2000) has been applied in quantitative studies of romantic relationships. Though feminist researchers have discussed the increasing diversity of methods in feminist research (Rutherford, 2011), there are relatively fewer examples of quantitative studies that have explicitly used a gender-as-relational perspective (e.g., Curran et al., 2015; Umberson & Kroeger, 2016). First, we describe the gender-as-relational perspective as it relates to feminist theory and romantic relationships. Second, we describe emotion work as it operates in romantic relationships, how it differs between women and men, and why it is an appropriate construct to study from a gender-as-relational perspective. Third, we describe how dyadic data analysis, specifically actor-partner interdependence models (APIM; Kenny et al., 2016), can be used to study romantic relationship dynamics from a gender-as-relational perspective. Finally, we describe three studies that have applied a gender-as-relational perspective to examining emotion work in romantic relationships, noting their contributions to feminist theory.

Sexual minority individuals often have complicated relationships with conservative religion, including conflicts between their sexual and religious identities. Sexual minority members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (CJCLDS) experience unique struggles, given the policies and doctrine of the CJCLDS and its commitment to heteronormative family structures and gender roles. A better understanding of the identity development trajectory for sexual minority individuals formerly involved in the church can deepens our understanding of sexual identity development in constrained contexts and help promote successful identity integration within this subpopulation. Transcripts from semi-structured interviews with thirty-four sexual minority individuals who identified as former members of the CJCLDS were analyzed using an inductive thematic approach, followed by a deductive theory-building process in which Cass’s Homosexual Identity Formation Model and Genia’s Religious Identity Development Model were overlaid on themes. We present a model that captures the trajectory of sexual and religious identity development that captures the experiences of sexual minority adults within the constraints of the CJCLDS, a non-affirming religious denomination.

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 Personal Relationships, have contributed to the field. In this critical review, we analyzed the 2181 manuscripts published in the journals between 2002 and 2021 for whether they included or excluded LGBTQ+ participants, the methodologies used to analyze their data, and their conclusions about LGBTQ+ lives and relationships. The overwhelming majority (85.8%) of manuscripts did not acknowledge LGBTQ+ relationships; however, there have been improvements compared to past research in retaining LGBTQ+ participants within a data set when they were present. We identified 92 manuscripts that contributed to knowledge about LGBTQ+ lives or relationships. We discuss the lack of intersectional analyses and methodological challenges of incorporating multiple forms of diversity within quantitative research. Overarching themes across manuscript content included minority stress, relationship formation, social support, and commitment. Overall, though the research in the two journals has contributed to the literature on LGBTQ+ relationships, our review suggests that scholars do not consider these two journals as a first choice for finding or publishing LGBTQ+ relationship science.

Bisexual people can internalize stigma from both heterosexual and gay/lesbian communities, which often occurs in the form of monosexism, the belief that people should only be attracted to one gender. Although community involvement is protective for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer+ (LGBQ+) people, bisexual people may benefit more from bisexual-specific communities than LGBQ + communities because of monosexism. Further, how bisexual people define their identity may be related to internalized binegativity, especially given the historical invisibility of bisexuality in mainstream media and recent debates about the definition of bisexuality within LGBQ + communities. We examined LGBQ + and bisexual-specific community involvement, definitions of bisexuality, and internalized binegativity among an online sample of 816 bisexual adults. Multivariate regression analyses showed that those with spectrum definitions, which acknowledged a nuanced understanding of sex, gender, and sexuality, reported lower internalized binegativity than those with binary definitions, which described sexuality as consistent with mainstream norms. Involvement in LGBQ + communities, but not bisexual communities, was associated with lower internalized binegativity. There was no interaction between type of definition and type of community involvement. Our results suggest that broad community involvement may be protective for internalized binegativity, but findings should be considered in light of a lack of well-funded, local bisexual communities. The current study adds to a growing literature on sexual minority stressors among bisexual people, a population that continues to be understudied.