Abstracts Category : Other

Minority Stress, Same-Sex Couples, and Marriage Equality: AQualitative Interview Study

by Angela Lee-Attardo

In June 2015, the marriage equality movement in theUnited States succeeded at the federal level. This study documentsindividuals perceptions of how the fight for marriage equalityaffected their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors within their ownmarriages to same-sex spouses. I conducted interviews with eightmarried individuals (five men and three women) who were marriedprior to the Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriagenationwide. Areas of inquiry included (a) motivation to getmarried, (b) factors affecting commitment, (c) willingness toutilize couple therapy, and (d) factors affecting thoughts aboutdivorce. I hypothesized that, for some individuals or couples, thefight to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide may have imposedpressure to promote the cause of marriage equality or fight antigaystigma and prejudice, thereby affecting commitment in theirmarriage. The primary interest in this study was to betterunderstand the way individuals think about their marriages and howthey were affected by the marriage equality movement. I usedinterpretive phenomenological analysis to analyze the data. Mostparticipants endorsed some degree of political or social justicethemes in their reasons for getting married or among the factorsimpacting their thoughts and feelings about marriage. Fewerparticipants thought political and social justice concerns wouldimpact their commitment or thoughts about divorce, though this wasa factor for two individuals. Participants did not see theirwillingness to use couple therapy as impacted by the marriageequality movement or by political and social justice concerns.Participants also described the impact of the marriage equalitymovement and the associated sociocultural/political turmoil ontheir lives in general. This study has implications for therapistsworking with same-sex couples or individuals struggling withrelationship concerns. Political factors can be present among themotivations of a couple to get married. For some individuals, it ispossible these factors impact commitment, though in this study,this was only true for two interviewees. If therapists are aware ofthe impact of their clients political and social justice concernson their values and their relationships, they will be more likelyto form accurate case conceptualizations and targeted interventionsto help clients work through their problems.Advisors/Committee Members: Borden, Kathi A. (Committee Chair).