Assessing Nontraditional Couples: Validity of the Marital Satisfaction Inventory‐revised With Gay, Lesbian, and Cohabiting Heterosexual Couples

Abstract

Thirty-one gay male couples and 28 lesbian couples were compared with 36 cohabiting heterosexual couples using the Marital Satisfaction Inventory-Revised (MSI-R), a multidimensional measure of relationship functioning intended for use with both traditional and nontraditional couples. Analyses of scales' internal consistency and factor structure supported the construct validity of this measure with nontraditional couples. Analyses of mean profiles on the MSI-R indicated that cohabiting opposite-gender and same-gender couples were more alike than different, and were more similar to nondistressed samples of married heterosexual couples from the general community than to couples in therapy. Implications of current findings for clinical assessment and intervention are considered, and directions for future research are proposed.

Alaskan Gay Males’ Couple Experiences of Societal Non-Support: Coping Through Families of Choice and Therapeutic Means

“…It has been reported that gay male individuals and male couples are participants in therapy in proportionally higher numbers than their heterosexual male counterparts (Haldeman 2005;Means-Christensen et al 2003). Nationally, about 32% of male couples have sought professional services and between 25 and 65% of gays have sought therapy (MeansChristensen et al 2003;Robinson and Howard-Hamilton 2000).…”

“…Instead, what seems to be the case is perhaps the opposite: gay males and gay male couples have developed effective ways of coping with each other and with the forces working against them. Members of these couples often deal with external forces like societal oppression primarily through the use of effective problem solving skills (Todoroff 1995), accessing professional mental health care providers (Haldeman 2005;Means-Christensen et al 2003;Robinson and Howard-Hamilton 2000), and also through high levels of social support (Campbell 2000). Social support primarily comes from ''families of choice'' or ''chosen families,'' which usually are composed of friends and/or family members who are selected by the couple and who function in a type of fictive kin position within their family (Ariel and McPherson 2000;Bepko and Johnson 2000;Campbell 2000).…”

“…In the US, one main factor that influences the MFT field and contributes to the ongoing oppression of same-sex couples is the intolerance of various groups within the religious community (Means-Christensen et al 2003). Although it is true that one of the oldest understandings of homosexuality is a religious one-one that has typically viewed homosexuality as evil or sinful-modern religious scholars point out that this view towards homosexuality has gone through periods of both tolerance and intolerance and that currently intolerance of homosexuality can no longer be ignored (Bess 1995).…”

“…Thus, there is a need for research examining the attitudes of society as experienced by gay male couples (Herek 1999), as well as exploration of the effect of societal oppression in the form of heterosexism, homophobia, and antigay behaviors on such couplings (Herek 2004;Means-Christensen et al 2003). Furthermore, research on the experiences of male-male couples in Alaska is virtually nonexistent and given all of the recent attention on the state, its people, and this population within the state, it is imperative that accurate information be disseminated.…”

Reconsidering the Term Marriage in Marriage and Family Therapy

“…Couples who are not actively planning for marriage, some of whom may not be able to marry legally, have also become a focus within the MFT profession. These couples include cohabiting (e.g., Means-Christensen et al 2003) and same-sex couples (e.g., Bepko and Johnson 2000).…”