Abstract
Accumulating evidence has been found for the associations from sexual minority stressors to intimate partner violence (IPV) among same-sex couples. Yet key gaps still exist, including the rare utilization of couple dyadic data, the understudied moderating and mediating mechanisms, and the few studies conducted during the transitional period of same-sex marriage legalization. To address these gaps, we used cross-sectional, dyadic data collected from 144 US same-sex couples during the 2014–2015 national campaign for the legalization of same-sex marriage. Guided by the systemic transactional model (STM), we examined associations from sexual minority stressors (including both internalized homophobia and discrimination) to same-sex IPV and tested whether commitment moderated or mediated these associations. Overall, we found evidence supporting the STM: (1) High internalized homophobia and discrimination were related to high prevalence and/or frequency of IPV perpetration; (2) high commitment attenuated positive associations between high discrimination and high prevalence and/or frequency of IPV perpetration; and (3) high internalized homophobia was related to low commitment, which in turn was related to high prevalence and/or frequency of IPV perpetration. Collectively, our study identified commitment as both a moderator and mediator in associations from sexual minority stressors to same-sex IPV. Further, the roles of commitment (i.e., moderator or mediator) depend on whether the focal sexual minority stressors are distal and more intermittent (i.e., heterosexist discrimination) or proximal and more constant (i.e., internalized homophobia).
Similar content being viewed by others
Data Availability
Original data and survey are not publicly posted but can be obtained by contacting the fourth and fifth authors.
Code Availability
Mplus code is not publicly posted but can be obtained by contacting the first author.
References
Adams, J. M., & Jones, W. H. (1997). The conceptualization of marital commitment: An integrative analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72, 1177–1196. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.72.5.1177
Amadio, D. M. (2006). Internalized heterosexism, alcohol use, and alcohol-related problems among lesbians and gay men. Addictive Behaviors, 31, 1153–1162. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2005.08.013
Balsam, K. F., & Szymanski, D. M. (2005). Relationship quality and domestic violence in women’s same-sex relationships: The role of minority stress. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 29(3), 258–269. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.2005.00220.x
Barrantes, R. J., Eaton, A. A., Veldhuis, C. B., & Hughes, T. L. (2017). The role of minority stressors in lesbian relationship commitment and persistence over time. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, 4, 205–217. https://doi.org/10.1037/sgd0000221
Berg, R. C., Munthe-Kaas, H. M., & Ross, M. W. (2016). Internalized homonegativity: A systematic mapping review of empirical research. Journal of Homosexuality, 63, 541–558. https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2015.1083788
Bodenmann, G., Randall, A. K., & Falconier, M. K. (2016). Coping in couples: The systemic transactional model. In M. K. Falconier, A. K. Randall, & G. Bodenmann (Eds.), Couples coping with stress: A cross-cultural perspective (5–22). Taylor & Francis.
Bradley, R. P. C., Drummey, K., Gottman, J. M., & Gottman, J. S. (2014). Treating couples who mutually exhibit violence or aggression: Reducing behaviors that show a susceptibility for violence. Journal of Family Violence, 29, 549–558. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-014-9615-4
Buck, A. A., & Neff, L. A. (2012). Stress spillover in early marriage: The role of self-regulatory depletion. Journal of Family Psychology, 26, 698–708. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0029260
Cao, H., Zhou, N., Fine, M., Liang, Y., Li, J., & Mills-Koonce, W. R. (2017). Sexual minority stress and same-sex relationship well-being: A meta-analysis of research prior to the U.S. nationwide legalization of same-sex marriage. Journal of Marriage and Family, 79, 1258–1277. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.1241
Capaldi, D. M., Knoble, N. B., Shortt, J. W., & Kim, H. K. (2012). A systematic review of risk factors for intimate partner violence. Partner Abuse, 3, 231–280. https://doi.org/10.1891/1946-6560.3.2.231
Capaldi, D. M., & Langhinrichsen-Rohling, J. (2012). Informing intimate partner violence prevention efforts: Dyadic, developmental, and contextual considerations. Prevention Science, 13, 323–328. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-012-0309-y
Decker, M., Littleton, H. L., & Edwards, K. M. (2018). An updated review of the literature on LGBTQ + intimate partner violence. Current Sexual Health Reports, 10, 265–272. https://doi.org/10.1007/s1193Q-018-%3cJ173-2
Doyle, D. M., & Molix, L. (2015). Social stigma and sexual minorities’ romantic relationship functioning: A meta-analytic review. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 41(10), 1363–1381.
Edwards, K. M., & Sylaska, K. M. (2013). The perpetration of intimate partner violence among LGBTQ college youth: The role of minority stress. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 42, 1721–1731. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-012-9880-6
Edwards, K. M., Sylaska, K. M., & Neal, A. M. (2015). Intimate partner violence among sexual minority populations: A critical review of the literature and agenda for future research. Psychology of Violence, 5, 112–121. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038656
Elliott, G. C., Cunningham, S. M., Colangelo, M., & Gelles, R. J. (2011). Perceived mattering to the family and physical violence within the family by adolescents. Journal of Family Issues, 32, 1007–1029. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X11398932
Finkel, E. J. (2007). Impelling and inhibiting forces in the perpetration of intimate partner violence. Review of General Psychology, 11, 193–207. https://doi.org/10.1037/1089-2680.11.2.193
Finneran, C., & Stephenson, R. (2013a). Intimate partner violence among men who have sex with men: A systematic review. Trauma, Violence, &Abuse, 14, 168–185. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838012470034
Finneran, C., & Stephenson, R. (2013b). Gay and bisexual men’s perceptions of police helpfulness in response to male–male intimate partner violence. Western Journal of Emergency Medicine, 14, 354–362. https://doi.org/10.5811/westjem.2013.3.15639
Finneran, C., & Stephenson, R. (2014). Intimate partner violence, minority stress, and sexual risk-taking among U.S. men who have sex with men. Journal of Homosexuality, 61, 288–306. https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2013.839911
Frost, D. M. (2011). Stigma and intimacy in same-sex relationships: A narrative approach. Journal of Family Psychology, 25, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0022374
Goldberg, A. E., & Smith, J. Z. (2011). Stigma, social context, and mental health: Lesbian and gay couples across the transition to adoptive parenthood. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 58, 139–150. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021684
Greene, D. C., & Britton, P. J. (2015). Predicting relationship commitment in gay men: Contributions of vicarious shame and internalized homophobia to the investment model. Psychology of Men &Masculinity, 16, 78–87. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0034988
Greenfield, P. M. (2017). Cultural change over time: Why replicability should not be the gold standard in psychological science. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 12, 762–771. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691617707314
Hardesty, J., & Ogolsky, B. (2020). A socioecological perspective on intimate partner violence research: A decade in review. Journal of Marriage and Family, 82, 454–477. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12652
Hearn, L. E., Whitehead, N. E., Khan, M. R., & Latimer, W. W. (2015). Time since release from incarceration and HIV risk behaviors among women: The potential protective role of committed partners during re-entry. AIDS and Behavior, 19, 1070–1077. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-014-0886-9
Hobfoll, S. E. (1989). Conservation of resources: A new attempt at conceptualizing stress. American Psychologist, 44, 513–524. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066x.44.3.513
Hobfoll, S. E. (2011). Conservation of resources theory: Its implication for stress, health, and resilience. In S. Folkman (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of stress, health, and coping (pp. 127–147). Oxford University Press.
Hofmans, J. (2017). Modeling psychological contract violation using dual regime models: An event-based approach. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 1948.
Huang, P. H. (2017). Asymptotics of AIC, BIC, and RMSEA for model selection in structural equation modeling. Psychometrika, 82, 407–426. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11336-017-9572-y
Hui, S. K. A., Lindsey, C. R., & Elliott, T. R. (2007). Church attendance and marital commitment beliefs of undergraduate women. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 37(3), 501–514. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.2007.00171.x
Johnson, M. P. (1999) Personal, moral, and structural commitment to relationships. In Handbook of interpersonal commitment and relationship stability (pp. 73–87). Springer.
Karney, B. R., & Bradbury, T. N. (2020). Research on marital satisfaction and stability in the 2010s: Challenging conventional wisdom. Journal of Marriage and Family, 82, 100–116. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12635
Karney, B. R., Story, L. B., & Bradbury, T. N. (2005). Marriages in context: Interactions between chronic and acute stress among newlyweds. In T. A. Revenson, K. Kayser, & G. Bodenmann (Eds.), Couples coping with stress: Emerging perspectives on dyadic coping (pp. 13–32). APA.
Kastello, J. C., Jacobsen, K. H., Gaffney, K. F., Kodadek, M. P., Sharps, P. W., & Bullock, L. C. (2016). Predictors of depression symptoms among low-income women exposed to perinatal intimate partner violence (IPV). Community Mental Health Journal, 52, 683–690. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-015-9977-y
Kazyak, E., & Stange, M. (2018). Backlash or a positive response?: Public opinion of LGB issues after Obergefell v. Hodges. Journal of Homosexuality, 65, 2028–2052. https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2017.1423216
Kelley, M. L., Lewis, R. J., & Mason, T. B. (2015). Discrepant alcohol use, intimate partner violence, and relationship adjustment among lesbian women and their same-sex intimate partners. Journal of Family Violence, 30, 977–986. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-015-9743-5
Kennedy, H. R., & Dalla, R. L. (2020). “It may be legal, but it is not treated equally”: Marriage equality and well-being implications for same-sex couples. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Social Services, 32, 67–98. https://doi.org/10.1080/10538720.2019.1681340
Kenny, D. A., Kashy, D. A., & Cook, W. L. (2006). Dyadic data analysis. Guilford Press.
Kimmes, J. G., Mallory, A. B., Spencer, C., Beck, A. R., Cafferky, B., & Stith, S. M. (2017). A meta-analysis of risk markers for intimate partner violence in same-sex relationships. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838017708784
Kopystynska, O., & Beck, C. J. (2018). Considering destructive interparental conflict and intimate partner abuse: Is there a difference? Family Court Review, 56, 209–218. https://doi.org/10.1111/fcre.12335
Laskey, P., Bates, E. A., & Taylor, J. C. (2019). A systematic literature review of intimate partner violence victimisation: An inclusive review across gender and sexuality. Aggression and Violent Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2019.02.014
Ledermann, T., Macho, S., & Kenny, D. A. (2011). Assessing mediation in dyadic data using the actor–partner interdependence model. Structural Equation Modeling, 18, 595–612. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705511.2011.607099
Li, X., Cao, H., Zhou, N., & Mills-Koonce, R. (2021). Internalized homophobia and relationship quality among same-sex couples: The mediating role of intimate partner violence. Journal of Homosexuality, 68, 1749–1773. https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2019.1705671
Li, X., Cao, H., Zhou, N., Ju, X., Lan, J., Zhu, Q., & Fang, X. (2018). Daily communication, conflict resolution, and marital quality in Chinese marriage: A three-wave, cross-lagged analysis. Journal of Family Psychology, 32(6), 733–742. https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000430
Little, R. J. (1988). A test of missing completely at random for multivariate data with missing values. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 83(404), 1198–1202.
Malinen, K., Rönkä, A., & Sevón, E. (2010). Good moments in parents’ spousal relationships: A daily relational maintenance perspective. Family Science, 1(3–4), 230–241.
Marshall, A. D., Jones, D. E., & Feinberg, M. E. (2011). Enduring vulnerabilities, relationship attributions, and couple conflict: An integrative model of the occurrence and frequency of intimate partner violence. Journal of Family Psychology, 25, 709–718. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0025279
Martin-Storey, A., & Fromme, K. (2021). Mediating factors explaining the association between sexual minority status and dating violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 76, 132–159. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260517726971
Matte, M., & Lafontaine, M. F. (2011). Validation of a measure of psychological aggression in same-sex couples: Descriptive data on perpetration and victimization and their association with physical violence. Journal of GLBT Family Studies, 7, 226–244. https://doi.org/10.1080/1550428X.2011.564944
McClelland, G. H., & Judd, C. M. (1993). Statistical difficulties of detecting interactions and moderator effects. Psychological Bulletin, 114, 376–390. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.114.2.376
Messinger, A. M. (2017). LGBTQ intimate partner violence: Lessons for policy, practice, and research. University of California Press.
Meyer, I. H. (2003). Prejudice, social stress, and mental health in lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations: Conceptual issues and research evidence. Psychological Bulletin, 129(5), 674–697.
Meyer, I. H. (2020). Rejection sensitivity and minority stress: A challenge for clinicians and interventionists [Commentary]. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 49, 2287–2289. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-019-01597-7
Meyer, I. H., & Wilson, P. A. (2009). Sampling lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 56, 23–31. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0014587
Morandini, J., Blaszczynski, A., Ross, M., Costa, D., & Dar-Nimrod, I. (2015). Essentialist beliefs, sexual identity uncertainty, internalized homonegativity and psychological wellbeing in gay men. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 62, 413–424. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000072
Morrison, T., Bishop, C. J., Morrison, M., & Parker-Taneo, K. (2016). A psychometric review of measures assessing discrimination against sexual minorities. Journal of Homosexuality, 63, 1086–1126. https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2015.1117903
Neff, L. A., & Karney, B. R. (2017). Acknowledging the elephant in the room: How stressful environmental contexts shape relationship dynamics. Current Opinion in Psychology, 13, 107–110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2016.05.013
Ogolsky, B. G., Monk, J. K., Rice, T. M., & Oswald, R. F. (2019). As the states turned: Implications of the changing legal context of same-sex marriage on well-being. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 36, 3219–3238. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407518816883
Olsen, J. A., & Kenny, D. A. (2006). Structural equation modeling with interchangeable dyads. Psychological Methods, 11, 127–141. https://doi.org/10.1037/1082-989X.11.2.127
Petruzzella, A., Feinstein, B. A., Davila, J., & Lavner, J. A. (2020). Gay-specific and general stressors predict gay men’s psychological functioning over time. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 49, 1755–1767. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-020-01672-4
Preacher, K. J., & Hayes, A. F. (2008). Asymptotic and resampling strategies for assessing and comparing indirect effects in multiple mediator models. Behavior Research Methods, 40, 879–891. https://doi.org/10.3758/BRM.40.3.879
Randall, A. K., & Bodenmann, G. (2009). The role of stress on close relationships and marital satisfaction. Clinical Psychology Review, 29, 105–115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2008.10.004
Rusbult, C. E., Drigotas, S. M., & Verette, J. (1994). The investment model: An interdependence analysis of commitment processes and relationship maintenance phenomena. In D. J. Canary & L. Stafford (Eds.), Communication and relational maintenance (pp. 115–139). Academic Press.
Sadler, P., Ethier, N., & Woody, E. (2011). Tracing the interpersonal web of psychopathology: Dyadic data analysis methods for clinical researchers. Journal of Experimental Psychopathology, 2, 95–138. https://doi.org/10.5127/jep.010310
Sarno, E. L., Newcomb, M. E., Feinstein, B. A., & Mustanski, B. (2020). Bisexual men’s experiences with discrimination, internalized binegativity, and identity affirmation: Differences by partner gender. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 49(5), 1783–1798.
Stanley, J. L., Bartholomew, K., Taylor, T., Oram, D., & Landolt, M. (2006). Intimate violence in male same-sex relationships. Journal of Family Violence, 21, 31–41. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-005-9008-9
Straus, M. (2017). Physical violence in American families. Routledge.
Straus, M. A. (1995). Manual for the Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS) and test forms for the Revised Conflict Tactics Scales. Family Research Laboratory, University of New Hampshire.
Straus, M. A., Hamby, S. L., Boney-McCoy, S., & Sugarman, D. B. (1996). The Revised Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS2): Development and preliminary psychometric data. Journal of Family Issues, 17, 283–316. https://doi.org/10.1177/019251396017003001
Szymanski, D. M., & Chung, Y. B. (2001). The Lesbian Internalized Homophobia Scale: A rational/theoretical approach. Journal of Homosexuality, 41(2), 37–52. https://doi.org/10.1300/J082v41n02_03
Szymanski, D. M., Kashubeck-West, S., & Meyer, J. (2008). Internalized heterosexism: A historical and theoretical overview. The Counseling Psychologist, 36, 510–524. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000007309488
Testa, R. J., Michaels, M. S., Bliss, W., Rogers, M. L., Balsam, K. F., & Joiner, T. (2017). Suicidal ideation in transgender people: Gender minority stress and interpersonal theory factors. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 126, 125–136.
Timmins, L., Rimes, K. A., & Rahman, Q. (2020). Minority stressors, rumination, and psychological distress in lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 49, 661–680. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-019-01502-2
Toghroli Pour Grighani, M., Mousavi Nasab, S. M., & Rahmati, A. (2018). Examination of a causal model of family-of-origin’s health, attachment styles, and marital commitment with the mediating role of self-differentiation. International Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 12(3), 91–95.
Totenhagen, C. J., Randall, A. K., & Lloyd, K. (2018). Stress and relationship functioning in same-sex couples: The vulnerabilities of internalized homophobia and outness. Family Relations, 67, 399–413. https://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12311
Twenge, J. M., & Blake, A. B. (2021). Increased support for same-sex marriage in the US: Disentangling age, period, and cohort effects. Journal of Homosexuality, 68, 1774–1784. https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2019.1705672
Waldo, C. R. (1999). Working in a majority context: A structural model of heterosexism as minority stress in the workplace. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 46, 218–232. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.46.2.218
Acknowledgements
We thank Dr. Russel B. Tomey at University of Arizona for his statistical and theoretical consultation during the preparation of this paper.
Funding
Preparation of this article was supported by: (a) the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) under grant 1K01 HD075833-01 (Principal Investigator: Dr. W. Roger Mills-Koonce), and (b) the American Psychological Foundation’s 2015 Roy Scrivner Memorial Research Grant (Principal Investigator: Dr. Hongjian Cao).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
Authors’ contributions are proper for their authorship, and all authors have reviewed and approved the authorship on the cover page.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
Authors have no conflicts of interest.
IRB Approval
IRB approval from the home institution has been granted and all human participants have received and signed consent forms.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary Information
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Li, X., Curran, M.A., Butler, E. et al. Sexual Minority Stressors and Intimate Partner Violence Among Same-Sex Couples: Commitment as a Resource. Arch Sex Behav 51, 2317–2335 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-021-02261-9
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-021-02261-9