Sexual Identity and Relationship Quality in Australia and the United Kingdom

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12293
• Published date: 01 February 2018
• Author: Janeen Baxter,Francisco Perales
• Date: 01 February 2018

F P  J B Life Course Centre, Institute for Social Science

Research, The University of Queensland

Sexual Identity and Relationship Quality in

Australia and the United Kingdom

Objective: To investigate the quality of inti-

mate relationships of bisexual, gay,lesbian, and

heterosexual individuals in Australia and the

United Kingdom.

Background: There is a shortage of research on

the relationship quality of nonheterosexual indi-

viduals, and the majority of the available evi-

dence comes from the United States. We add to

existing knowledge by considering bisexual indi-

viduals; examining mixed-orientation couples;

and using recent, large,and nationally represen-

tative cross-national data.

Method: Data from 25,348 individuals in the

United Kingdom (Understanding Society study)

and 9,206 individuals in Australia (Household,

Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Sur-

vey) were used to estimate regression models

predicting relationship quality while adjusting

for confounds.

Results: Relationship quality in same-sex cou-

ples was as high as in heterosexualcouples in the

United Kingdom, and higher in Australia. The

lowest relationship quality in both countries was

reported by bisexual individuals.

Conclusion: Our results provide robust evi-

dence to combat deep-rooted and erroneous

social perceptions of same-sex relationships

being conictual, unhappy, and dysfunctional.

Institute for Social Science Research, The University of

Queensland, Long Pocket Precinct, 80 Meiers Rd, Build-

ing C, Indooroopilly, Brisbane, Australia, QLD 4068

(f.perales@uq.edu.au).

Key Words: Australia, family outcomes, relationshipquality,

same-sex relationships, sexual identity,United Kingdom.

Implications: Our ndings support policies that

seek to legalize same-sex marriage and parent-

ing rights. They also highlight the need to give

further attention to bisexual individuals as a dis-

tinct group because their outcomes are compar-

atively poor.

Same-sex couples have been the subject of

intense media and political debate in recent

years, primarily in relation to formal rights

to marry and raise children. Similar to dis-

cussions about the rise of cohabitation and

single-parent families in the 1970s (Popenoe,

1988, 1993), concerns have been expressed

about how the emergence of same-sex cou-

ples could contribute to the demise of the

nuclear family and the well-being of children

(Washington, Pollvogt, Smith, & Fontana,

2015). Despite widespread debate about the

inequality of traditional marriage laws, rising

awareness of homophobic discrimination, and

a burgeoning academic literature on sexual

identity, we know comparatively little about

the family outcomes, relationship dynamics,

and household arrangements of bisexual, gay,

and lesbian individuals compared with those

of heterosexual individuals, especially those

living in countries other than the United States

(Knudson-Martin & Laughlin, 2004; Rothblum,

2009). Some argue that research comparing gay

or lesbian and heterosexual couples implicitly

perpetuates heteronormativity, whereas oth-

ers directly question its validity. Although we

acknowledge the complexities and limitations

inherent to the measurement of sexual identity

Family Relations 67 (February 2018): 55–69 55

DOI:10.1111/fare.12293