IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/demogr/v53y2016i4d10.1007_s13524-016-0490-x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Same-Sex and Different-Sex Cohabiting Couple Relationship Stability

Author

Listed:
  • Wendy D. Manning

    (Bowling Green State University)

  • Susan L. Brown

    (Bowling Green State University)

  • J. Bart Stykes

    (Sam Houston State University)

Abstract

Relationship stability is a key indicator of well-being, but most U.S.-based research has been limited to different-sex couples. The 2008 panel of the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) provides an untapped data resource to analyze relationship stability of same-sex cohabiting, different-sex cohabiting, and different-sex married couples (n = 5,701). The advantages of the SIPP data include the recent, nationally representative, and longitudinal data collection; a large sample of same-sex cohabitors; respondent and partner socioeconomic characteristics; and identification of a state-level indicator of a policy stating that marriage is between one man and one woman (i.e., DOMA). We tested competing hypotheses about the stability of same-sex versus different-sex cohabiting couples that were guided by incomplete institutionalization, minority stress, relationship investments, and couple homogamy perspectives (predicting that same-sex couples would be less stable) as well as economic resources (predicting that same-sex couples would be more stable). In fact, neither expectation was supported: results indicated that same-sex cohabiting couples typically experience levels of stability that are similar to those of different-sex cohabiting couples. We also found evidence of contextual effects: living in a state with a constitutional ban against same-sex marriage was significantly associated with higher levels of instability for same- and different-sex cohabiting couples. The level of stability in both same-sex and different-sex cohabiting couples is not on par with that of different-sex married couples. The findings contribute to a growing literature on health and well-being of same-sex couples and provide a broader understanding of family life.

Suggested Citation

  • Wendy D. Manning & Susan L. Brown & J. Bart Stykes, 2016. "Same-Sex and Different-Sex Cohabiting Couple Relationship Stability," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 53(4), pages 937-953, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:demogr:v:53:y:2016:i:4:d:10.1007_s13524-016-0490-x
    DOI: 10.1007/s13524-016-0490-x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s13524-016-0490-x
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s13524-016-0490-x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Marie Digoix & Patrick Festy, 2004. "Same-sex couples, same-sex partnerships & homosexual marriages," Working Papers 124, Institut National d'Études Démographiques (INED).
    2. Mircea Trandafir, 2014. "The Effect of Same-Sex Marriage Laws on Different-Sex Marriage: Evidence From the Netherlands," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 51(1), pages 317-340, February.
    3. Jay Teachman, 2002. "Stability across cohorts in divorce risk factors," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 39(2), pages 331-351, May.
    4. Mircea Trandafir, 2014. "Reply to Comment on “The Effect of Same-Sex Marriage Laws on Different-Sex Marriage: Evidence From the Netherlands”," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 51(6), pages 2349-2350, December.
    5. Marcus Dillender, 2014. "The Death of Marriage? The Effects of New Forms of Legal Recognition on Marriage Rates in the United States," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 51(2), pages 563-585, April.
    6. Matthijs Kalmijn & Anneke Loeve & Dorien Manting, 2007. "Income dynamics in couples and the dissolution of marriage and cohabitation," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 44(1), pages 159-179, February.
    7. Hatzenbuehler, M.L. & Keyes, K.M. & Hasin, D.S., 2009. "State-level policies and psychiatric morbidity in lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 99(12), pages 2275-2281.
    8. Dan Black & Gary Gates & Seth Sanders & Lowell Taylor, 2000. "Demographics of the gay and lesbian population in the United States: Evidence from available systematic data sources," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 37(2), pages 139-154, May.
    9. Gunnar Andersson & Turid Noack & Ane Seierstad & Harald Weedon-Fekjær, 2006. "The demographics of same-sex marriages in Norway and Sweden," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 43(1), pages 79-98, February.
    10. Christine Schwartz, 2010. "Pathways to educational homogamy in marital and cohabiting unions," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 47(3), pages 735-753, August.
    11. Laura Langbein & Mark A. Yost, 2009. "Same‐Sex Marriage and Negative Externalities," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 90(2), pages 292-308, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Hanna Vseviov & Allan Puur & Mark Gortfelder, 2023. "Fertility Intentions and Sexual Orientation: Evidence from the 2020 Youth Survey in Estonia," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 42(2), pages 1-26, April.
    2. Alexa Solazzo & Bridget Gorman & Justin Denney, 2020. "Does Sexual Orientation Complicate the Relationship Between Marital Status and Gender With Self-rated Health and Cardiovascular Disease?," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 57(2), pages 599-626, April.
    3. Martell, Michael E., 2021. "Labor market differentials estimated with researcher-inferred and self-identified sexual orientation," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 205(C).
    4. Kara Joyner & Wendy Manning & Ryan Bogle, 2017. "Gender and the Stability of Same-Sex and Different-Sex Relationships Among Young Adults," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 54(6), pages 2351-2374, December.
    5. Neil G. Bennett, 2017. "A reflection on the changing dynamics of union formation and dissolution," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 36(12), pages 371-390.
    6. Christopher S. Carpenter, 2020. "The Direct Effects of Legal Same-Sex Marriage in the United States: Evidence From Massachusetts," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 57(5), pages 1787-1808, October.
    7. Chen, Shuai & van Ours, Jan C., 2020. "Symbolism matters: The effect of same-sex marriage legalization on partnership stability," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 178(C), pages 44-58.
    8. Hofmarcher, Thomas & Plug, Erik, 2022. "Specialization in same-sex and different-sex couples," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    9. Martin Kolk & Gunnar Andersson, 2020. "Two Decades of Same-Sex Marriage in Sweden: A Demographic Account of Developments in Marriage, Childbearing, and Divorce," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 57(1), pages 147-169, February.
    10. Fernando Ruiz Vallejo & Diederik Boertien, 2021. "Do same-sex unions dissolve more often than different-sex unions? Methodological insights from Colombian data on sexual behavior," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 44(48), pages 1149-1164.
    11. Peter D. Brandon & Danielle George-Lucas & Oleg Ivashchenko, 2022. "How architectural principles can help conceptualize and analyze breakups among intergenerational households," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-10, December.
    12. Katie R. Genadek & Sarah M. Flood & Joan Garcia Roman, 2020. "Same-Sex Couples’ Shared Time in the United States," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 57(2), pages 475-500, April.
    13. Mary Eschelbach Hansen & Michael E. Martell & Leanne Roncolato, 2020. "A labor of love: The impact of same-sex marriage on labor supply," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 18(2), pages 265-283, June.
    14. Chen, Shuai, 2019. "Marriage, minorities, and mass movements," Other publications TiSEM 9cb1b11d-12e6-46a8-adca-4, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    15. Zhiyong Lin & Wei-hsin Yu & Kuo-Hsien Su, 2019. "Comparing same- and different-sex relationship dynamics: Experiences of young adults in Taiwan," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 40(17), pages 431-462.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Alexis Dinno, 2014. "Comment on “The Effect of Same-Sex Marriage Laws on Different-Sex Marriage: Evidence From the Netherlands”," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 51(6), pages 2343-2347, December.
    2. Christopher S. Carpenter, 2020. "The Direct Effects of Legal Same-Sex Marriage in the United States: Evidence From Massachusetts," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 57(5), pages 1787-1808, October.
    3. Sansone, Dario, 2019. "Pink work: Same-sex marriage, employment and discrimination," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    4. Edoardo Ciscato & Alfred Galichon & Marion Goussé, 2020. "Like Attract Like? A Structural Comparison of Homogamy across Same-Sex and Different-Sex Households," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 128(2), pages 740-781.
    5. Lina Aldén & Lena Edlund & Mats Hammarstedt & Michael Mueller-Smith, 2015. "Effect of Registered Partnership on Labor Earnings and Fertility for Same-Sex Couples: Evidence From Swedish Register Data," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 52(4), pages 1243-1268, August.
    6. Chen, Shuai & van Ours, Jan C., 2020. "Symbolism matters: The effect of same-sex marriage legalization on partnership stability," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 178(C), pages 44-58.
    7. Edoardo Ciscato & Alfred Galichon & Marion Goussé, 2020. "Like Attract Like? A Structural Comparison of Homogamy across Same-Sex and Different-Sex Households," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 128(2), pages 740-781.
    8. Christopher S. Carpenter & Samuel T. Eppink & Gilbert Gonzales & Tara McKay, 2021. "Effects of Access to Legal Same‐Sex Marriage on Marriage and Health," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 40(2), pages 376-411, March.
    9. Kara Joyner & Wendy Manning & Ryan Bogle, 2017. "Gender and the Stability of Same-Sex and Different-Sex Relationships Among Young Adults," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 54(6), pages 2351-2374, December.
    10. Kenneth Aarskaug Wiik & Ane Seierstad & Turid Noack, 2012. "Divorce in norwegian same-sex marriages 1993-2011," Discussion Papers 723, Statistics Norway, Research Department.
    11. Dimitrios Nikolaou, 2023. "Effects of marriage equality legislation on sexual health of the US population," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(1), pages 107-133, January.
    12. Patrick Festy, 2007. "Numbering same-sex couples in censuses and population registers," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 17(12), pages 339-368.
    13. Thierry Laurent & Ferhat Mihoubi, 2012. "Sexual Orientation and Wage Discrimination in France: The Hidden Side of the Rainbow," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 33(4), pages 487-527, December.
    14. Charles Strohm & Judith Seltzer & Susan Cochran & Vickie Mays, 2009. ""Living Apart Together" relationships in the United States," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 21(7), pages 177-214.
    15. Delhommer, Scott M. & Hamermesh, Daniel S., 2020. "Same-Sex Couples and the Marital Surplus: The Importance of the Legal Environment," IZA Discussion Papers 13061, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    16. Christine Schnor, 2015. "Does waiting pay off for couples? Partnership duration prior to household formation and union stability," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 33(22), pages 611-652.
    17. Karsten Hank & Martin Wetzel, 2018. "Same-sex relationship experiences and expectations regarding partnership and parenthood," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 39(25), pages 701-718.
    18. Lindsay Theunis & Christine Schnor & Didier Willaert & Jan Van Bavel, 2018. "His and Her Education and Marital Dissolution: Adding a Contextual Dimension," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 34(4), pages 663-687, October.
    19. Erin O Sills & Diego Herrera & A Justin Kirkpatrick & Amintas Brandão Jr. & Rebecca Dickson & Simon Hall & Subhrendu Pattanayak & David Shoch & Mariana Vedoveto & Luisa Young & Alexander Pfaff, 2015. "Estimating the Impacts of Local Policy Innovation: The Synthetic Control Method Applied to Tropical Deforestation," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(7), pages 1-15, July.
    20. Zhiyong Lin & Wei-hsin Yu & Kuo-Hsien Su, 2019. "Comparing same- and different-sex relationship dynamics: Experiences of young adults in Taiwan," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 40(17), pages 431-462.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:demogr:v:53:y:2016:i:4:d:10.1007_s13524-016-0490-x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.