The Qualities of Same‐Sex and Different‐Sex Couples in Young Adulthood
| Author | Wendy Manning,Barbara Prince,Kara Joyner |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12535 |
| Published date | 01 April 2019 |
| Date | 01 April 2019 |
K J W M Bowling Green State University
B P Morningside College∗
The Qualities of Same-Sex and Different-Sex
Couples in Young Adulthood
Objective: The recognition of sexual minorities
in social science research is growing, and this
study contributes to knowledge on this popu-
lation by comparing the qualities of same-sex
and different-sex relationships among young
adults.
Background: The ndings of studies on this
topic may not be generalizable because they are
limited to coresidential unions and based on
convenience samples. This study extends prior
research by examining multiple relationship
qualities among a nationally representative
sample of males and females in dating and
cohabiting relationships.
Method: The authors compare young adults in
same-sex and different-sex relationships with
respect to relationshipquality (commitment, sat-
isfaction, and emotional intimacy) and sexual
behavior (sexual frequency and sexual exclusiv-
ity). Drawing on the 4th wave of data from the
National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to
Adult Health (http://www.cpc.unc.edu/ projects/
addhealth), they use multiple regression to com-
pare: male respondents with different-sex part-
ners, male respondents with same-sex partners,
Department of Sociology, Bowling Green State University,
237 Williams Hall, Bowling Green, OH 43403
(kjoyner@bgsu.edu).
∗Department of Social Sciences, Morningside College,
Sioux City, IA.
Key Words: cohabitation, dating, gender, LGBTQ, quantita-
tive methodology.
female respondents with different-sex partners,
and female respondents with same-sex partners.
Results: Consistent with previous research,
the authors nd that respondents in same-sex
relationships experience similar levels of com-
mitment, satisfaction, and emotional intimacy
as their counterparts in different-sex relation-
ships. They also corroborate the nding that
male respondents in same-sex relationships are
less likely than other groups of respondents
to indicate that their relationship is sexually
exclusive.
Conclusion: This study provides an empirical
basis for understanding the relationships of sex-
ual minority young adults.
The romantic and sexual relationships of Amer-
icans have fundamentally changed in recent
decades (Sassler, 2010). The median age at rst
marriage in the United States has reached his-
toric high points of 29.5 for men and 27.4 for
women (U.S. Census Bureau, 2017), resulting
in an expanded period of singlehood to form
and dissolve romantic partnerships. The United
States has also reached its all-time peak in
terms of the percent of individuals who are cur-
rently cohabiting or have ever cohabited with a
different-sex partner. For instance, almost three
quarters (73%) of women ages 25 to 29 have
spent some time cohabiting (Manning & Stykes,
2015). In addition, the average number of sex-
ual partners that men and women accumulate
in early adulthood and their tendency to prac-
tice serial cohabitation has grown considerably
Journal of Marriage and Family 81 (April 2019): 487–505 487
DOI:10.1111/jomf.12535
488 Journal of Marriage and Family
(Hemez, 2017; Lichter, Turner,& Sassler, 2010),
again reecting delays in marriage. Limitations
in survey and census data make it difcult to
track changes in the prevalence of relationships
between partners of the same biological sex (or
gender identity), but parallel measures of sex-
ual orientation in data sets such as the cen-
sus and the General Social Survey indicate that
the percent of same-sex couples in the popu-
lation has increased substantially during recent
decades (Black, Gates, Sanders, & Taylor,2000;
Lofquist, Lugailia, O’Connell, & Feliz, 2012).
Young adults have more options for sexual
and romantic involvement than ever before,
including type of relationship (e.g., cohabita-
tion) and sex of partner. They not only face
fewer social barriers to residing with a romantic
partner but also they have greater freedom to
publicly acknowledge same-sex relationships
(Powell, Bolzendahl, Geist, & Steelman, 2010).
Despite the growing variety of relationships
that punctuate the transition to adulthood,
population-based studies (i.e., studies that
are representative of a specied population)
examining the qualities of sexual and romantic
relationships in young adulthood continue to
focus on different-sex coresidential relation-
ships (i.e., heterosexual marital or cohabiting
unions). One compelling rationale for broad-
ening the spectrum of relationships to include
same-sex couples is that they provide an impor-
tant counterfactual: how relationships operate in
the absence of biological sex difference between
partners (Carpenter & Gates, 2008).
To provide a conceptual framework for
examining the qualities of contemporary
relationships, we draw from the following two
perspectives tailored to explain the unique expe-
riences of same-sex couples: the minority stress
perspective and the gender-as-relational per-
spective. These perspectives explicitly address
two key ways in which same-sex couples are
distinct from different-sex couples: They face
social stigmatization and they combine individu-
als of the same sex (Diamond, 2013). Data from
the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent
to Adult Health (Add Health; http://www.cpc
.unc.edu/projects/addhealth) offer an oppor-
tunity to compare same-sex and different-sex
relationships with respect to commitment, sat-
isfaction, emotional intimacy, sexual frequency,
and sexual exclusivity. As in prior waves, Add
Health’s fourth wave (2007–2008) obtained
detailed information on the most recent roman-
tic or sexual relationship of its respondents. We
exclude marital relationships because marriage
for same-sex couples was legal in only one state
(Massachusetts) at the time of the fourth wave.
We classify respondents in our sample of non-
marital relationships as cohabiting if they have
ever lived with their most recent partner and dat-
ing if they have not. Most of these respondents
were in their late 20s or early 30s (i.e., young
adulthood) at the time of interview. We move
beyond prior work not only by considering
same-sex and dating relationships but also by
comparing relationships across a rich roster of
objective and subjective qualities.
B
Studies concerning the qualities of romantic and
sexual relationships have long used the term
relationship quality loosely to include a range
of outcomes, typically satisfaction and com-
mitment (e.g., Levinger, 1979; Rusbult, 1980;
Scanzoni, Polonko, Teachman, & Thompson,
1989; Sprecher, 1998). These studies often use
some variant of the social exchange perspective
(e.g., interdependence, investment, and commit-
ment perspectives) to explain variation in rela-
tionship quality. Measures of satisfaction and
commitment are thought to capture the rewards
and costs from a relationship. However, com-
mitment to a relationship (i.e., the desire to
continue a relationship) is conceptually distinct
from satisfaction because it is additionally based
on alternatives (e.g., being single or partnered
with someone else) and investments (Rusbult,
1980; Waite & Lillard, 1991). Another general
indicator of quality is the level of emotional
intimacy, dened as feelings and expressions of
acceptance, warmth, caring, and love (Prager,
2000). Although most romantic relationships in
adulthood involve sexual activity, research often
ignores the sexual basis to relationships, and
consideration of how sexuality is embedded in
relationships has increased in recent decades
(Christopher & Sprecher, 2000; Diamond, 2013,
2015). Physical intimacy may be particularly
salient in young adulthood, especially for indi-
viduals in nonmarital relationships. Studies sug-
gest that the importance of sex is greater in the
earlier phases of romantic involvement (Hazan
& Zeifman, 1994).
Studies on the quality of same-sex relation-
ships, in particular, similarly rely on social
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