Couple-level minority stress and mental health among people in same-sex relationships: extending minority stress theory

LeBlanc, Allen J.; Frost, David M.

doi:10.1177/2156869319884724

Cited by 53LGBTQ Health, Identity, and PolicyRacial and Ethnic Identity ResearchHIV/AIDS Research and Interventions

Couple-level minority stress and mental health among people in same-sex relationships: extending minority stress theory

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LeBlanc, Allen J., Frost, David M.·2020·Society and Mental Health

DOI 10.1177/2156869319884724

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Abstract

We simultaneously examined the effects of individual- and couple-level minority stressors on mental health among people in same-sex relationships. Individual-level minority stressors emerge from the stigmatization of sexual minority individuals; couple-level minority stressors emerge from the stigmatization of same-sex relationships. Dyadic data from 100 same-sex couples from across the United States were analyzed with actor–partner interdependence models. Couple-level stigma was uniquely associated with nonspecific psychological distress, depressive symptomatology, and problematic drinking, net the effects of individual-level stigma and relevant sociodemographic controls. Analyses also show that couple-level minority stress played unique roles in critical stress processes of minority stress proliferation: minority stress expansion and minority stress contagion. The inclusion of couple-level stress constructs represents a useful extension of minority stress theory, enriching our capacity to deepen understandings of minority stress experience and its application in the study of well-being and health inequalities faced by vulnerable populations.

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Minority stress experienced at the couple-level predicted mental health outcomes above and beyond individual-level minority stress experienced by each partner as individuals.
“Further, minority stress experienced at the couple-level predicted mental health outcomes above and beyond individual-level minority stress experienced by each partner as individuals [24].”
From Minority stress theory: Application, critique, and continued relevance (2023) · cites this paper as [24]
LeBlanc and Frost showed that couple-level minority stress was associated with multiple mental health outcomes through minority stress expansion and minority stress contagion between partners in same-sex couples.
“For example, LeBlanc and Frost [24] showed that couple-level minority stress was associated with multiple mental health outcomes through minority stress expansion and minority stress contagion between partners in same-sex couples.”
From Minority stress theory: Application, critique, and continued relevance (2023) · cites this paper as [24]
An important expansion to understanding how stress proliferates in dyadic relationships has developed in the application of minority stress to the study of couples.
“While stress has traditionally been studied as an individual variable, an important expansion to understanding how stress proliferates in dyadic relationships has developed in the application of minority stress to the study of couples [24,25].”
From Minority stress theory: Application, critique, and continued relevance (2023) · cites this paper as [24]

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Minority Stress and Stress Proliferation Among Same‐Sex and Other Marginalized Couples
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Couple-level Minority Stress: An Examination of Same-sex Couples’ Unique Experiences
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Measuring a New Stress Domain: Validation of the Couple-Level Minority Stress Scale (CLMS)
Neilands, T., LeBlanc, A., Frost, D. M., Bowen, K., Sullivan, P., Hoff, C., & Chang, J. (2019) · Archives of Sexual Behavior · doi:10.1007/s10508-019-01487-y · Cited by 30 · see citing works
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Same-sex relationships and minority stress
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Understanding how emerging same-sex couples make meaning of minority stress: A narrative approach.
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Self-citation

Authors: LeBlanc, A. J., & Frost, D. M.
Affiliations: San Francisco State University (US)
University College London (GB)
Corresponding author: LeBlanc, Allen J.
ORCID: LeBlanc, Allen J.
Frost, David M.
Venue: Society and Mental Health
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Published: 2019-11-13
Volume: 10
Issue: 3
Pages: 276-290
ISSN: 2156-8693 (ISSN-L)
2156-8731
DOI: 10.1177/2156869319884724
OpenAlex: W2983537378
Cited by: 53
References: 54
Citations by year: 2026: 7 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 3
FWCI: 4.71
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: green
discovery.ucl.ac.uk
Licence: journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations: Society and Mental Health (publishedVersion)
UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
Funders: National Institutes of Health (R01 HD070357)
Topics: Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy
Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Racial and Ethnic Identity Research
Health Sciences › Medicine › Infectious Diseases › HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions
Keywords: minority stress, same-sex couples, sexual minority mental health, depressive symptoms, psychological distress, problematic drinking, actor-partner interdependence

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Couple-level minority stress and mental health among people in same-sex relationships: extending minority stress theory

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