The Health Disparities of Same-sex Cohabitors at the Intersection of Race-ethnicity and Gender

Abstract

We work from a minority stress perspective to theorize health disparities across union status at the intersection of sexual minority status, race-ethnicity, and gender. We use pooled data from the Integrated National Health Interview Surveys (1997-2014) to assess a wide range of health outcomes, including self-rated physical health, psychological distress, and health behaviors. Results suggest that same-sex cohabitors face substantial health disadvantages relative to different-sex married individuals, with little variation by race-ethnicity and gender. Fewer health differences are found for same-sex cohabitors in comparison with both different-sex cohabitors and unpartnered singles, although greater variation by gender and race-ethnicity is found across these comparisons. This study highlights the importance of integrating intersectionality and minority stress theories to guide future research examining sexual minority health disparities. Results suggest that the sexual minority health disadvantage, as well as the potential health boost of same-sex marriage, may depend on the intersection of race-ethnicity and gender.

An investigation of quantitative methods for assessing intersectionality in health research: A systematic review

“…The Chow test for heterogeneity between two regression models can be used to evaluate whether the interactions in separate stratified models are statistically different. Other studies estimated the effects of a primary exposure of interest on an outcome within strata of intersectional subgroups, which allows for the assessment of effect modification by intersectional position (e.g., associations of same sex union status with health outcomes stratified by both race and gender ( Liu et al, 2017 )). One study implemented a geographically weighted regression, which allows for assessment of heterogeneity by locality in both the main effects of each social position and intersections between them ( Jang & Kim, 2018 ).…”

“Making do with things we cannot change”: An interpretive phenomenological analysis of relationship resilience among gay men in Singapore

“…These should include exploring how same-sex couples of different ethnicities, religions, and social backgrounds understand, cope with, and overcome the socio-political stressors existing within Asian societies. Such studies would enrich the extant intersectionality literature that is predominantly from the West (Crenshaw, 1989;Liu et al, 2016).…”

Cohabitation and single mothering in the United States: A review and call for psychological research.

“…Same-gender and different-gender cohabitors had similar levels of alcohol use but greater use than same-gender married couples (Reczek, Liu, & Spiker, 2014), suggesting that these associations may be due to union status, rather than sexual minority status. Compared with unpartnered individuals, same-gender cohabitors had greater psychological distress and worse health (Liu et al, 2017). Same-gender cohabitors had more psychological distress but similar health to different-gender cohabitors (Liu et al, 2017).…”