Adult Attachment Stability–Instability Before and After Marriage Between Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) and Non‐IPV Women Separated from Partners During Military Duty in Indonesia

The quality of attachment between intimate partners is important for women to maintain healthy relationships. Yet, the quality of attachment style and relationship can be marred and disrupted in women exposed to trauma due to intimate partner violence (IPV). Research suggests that the impact of trauma on women can be transmitted over generations due to the inability to regulate emotions, specifically in dealing with their children. The aim of this study was to explore the disruption of adult attachment patterns by comparing a group of women in Indonesia who have been affected by IPV, and a group of women who have not been affected by IPV but who have been separated from their partner during military duty. A cross‐sectional study comparing two groups: women exposed to IPV (n = 35) and women not exposed to IPV (n = 35) was carried out. The adult attachment scale before and after marriage was obtained using Experiences in Close Relationships‐Revised scales. The results revealed a significant shift of attachment style on the Avoidant dimension of the non‐IPV group separated by partner military duty and a slight change on the overall attachment of the IPV group, but relative stability on the Anxiety dimensions. The study interpreted the findings as being more supportive of the prototype perspective rather than the revisionist perspective. Family therapists may reduce the attachment Avoidant dimension as a therapeutic goal of intervention to change the insecure to a more secure working model.     

Couple Longevity in the Era of Same‐Sex Marriage in the United States

The author used a new longitudinal data set, the How Couples Meet and Stay Together surveys (N = 3,009), to generate the first nationally representative comparison of same‐sex couple stability and heterosexual couple stability in the United States. He measured the association between marriage (by several definitions of marriage) and couple longevity for same‐sex couples in the United States. Reports of same‐sex relationship instability in the past were due in part to the low rate of marriages among same‐sex couples. After controlling for marriage and marriage‐like commitments, the break‐up rate for same‐sex couples was comparable to (and not statistically distinguishable from) the break‐up rate for heterosexual couples. The results revealed that same‐sex couples who had a marriage‐like commitment had stable unions regardless of government recognition. A variety of predictors of relationship dissolution for heterosexual and for same‐sex couples are explored.     

Intimate Partner Violence in Young Adult Dating,Cohabitating, and Married Drinking Partnerships

Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, this study examined intimate partner violence (IPV) and drinking partnerships in 741 young adults in male‐female dating, cohabitating, and married relationships. Cluster analyses revealed four similar kinds of drinking partnerships: (a) congruent light and infrequent, (b) discrepant male heavy and frequent, (c) discrepant female heavy and infrequent, and (d) congruent moderate/heavy‐frequent drinkers. Overall, there were no significant main effect differences across relationship type and clusters. The type of relationship and the type of drinking partnership interacted with contexts examined (i.e., type of violence severity, gender, and whether the violence was perpetration or victimization). Given the severity of IPV in couple relationships, additional empirical attention to drinking partnerships is warranted.     

Organising Work and Home in Same‐Sex Parented Families: Findings From the Work Love Play Study

In this article we present findings from the Work, Love and Play (WLP) study: a survey completed by 445 same‐sex attracted parents across Australia and New Zealand. Comparisons of household division of labour are made between a sub‐sample of WLP participants, who were currently cohabiting with a same‐sex partner (n = 317), and 958 cohabiting opposite‐sex parents surveyed as part of a major Australian study, Negotiating the Life Course. This comparison showed that same‐sex couples divided household labour significantly more equally than heterosexual parents, and lesbian couples also shared parenting tasks more equally. Qualitative findings from the WLP study indicate that, for many same‐sex couples, major decisions around who gives up paid work and how many hours parents choose to work, as well as decisions around work/family balance, are negotiated on the basis of couple's preferences and circumstance rather than an assumption that one parent will be the primary child carer. It is speculated that this finding highlights an important point of difference between same‐sex couples and heterosexual couples where the division of household labour is often based on the assumption that the mother will almost always be the primary child carer and homemaker. The research is a collaborative partnership between La Trobe University, Deakin University, The University of Melbourne, and Relationships Australia Victoria.     

Relationship Education and Therapy for Same‐Sex Couples

The gay and lesbian community suffers higher rates of discrimination, mental health problems, and relationship break‐up than their heterosexual counterparts. In this paper we analyse the challenges confronting same‐sex couples, and the implications for couple education and therapy with same‐sex couples. We describe some similarities in the challenges confronting heterosexual and same‐sex couples (e.g., negotiation of shared realistic relationship expectations, effective communication). These similarities suggest existing evidence‐based approaches to couple therapy and relationship education are likely to assist same sex couple relationships. We also describe distinctive challenges for same‐sex couples (e.g., homophobic discrimination, internalised homophobia, and low support from many families for same sex relationships). These distinctive challenges suggest some adaptation of existing approaches to couple education and therapy could enhance their relevance and effectiveness to same sex couples.     

Partner Violence in Transgender Communities: What Helping Professionals Need to Know

ABSTRACT

In recent decades, there has been an increase in scholarly attention devoted to the study of intimate partner violence (IPV) within rainbow communities. While a growing body of scholarship now informs our understanding of the experiences of gay, lesbian, and bisexual men and women with IPV, comparatively less is known about IPV within transgender communities. Drawing on the published literature on transgender intimate relationships, this article seeks to provide practitioners with a foundational understanding of IPV in the lives of transgender people. Specifically, we will examine (a) methodological, political, and social barriers to the creation of knowledge about transgender IPV; (b) the familial and relationship contexts of IPV within transgender communities; (c) the prevalence of IPV experienced by transgender survivors; (d) the dynamics of IPV perpetrated against and/or by transgender persons; (e) the problematic use of the “trans panic” defense by perpetrators of IPV in legal contexts; and (f) recommendations for supporting transgender survivors of IPV in ways that are trans-inclusive and trans-positive.     

Risk Factors for Clinically Significant Intimate Partner Violence Among Active‐Duty Members

Hypothesized risk factors for men's and women's clinically significant intimate partner violence (CS‐IPV) from four ecological levels (i.e., individual, family, workplace, community) were tested in a representative sample of active‐duty U.S. Air Force members (N = 42,744). When considered together, we expected only individual and family factors to account for unique variance in CS‐IPV perpetration. Hypothesized factors from all four ecological levels were related to men's CS‐IPV perpetration bivariately, but, as expected, only individual and family factors accounted for unique variance across ecological levels. For women, only risk factors from the individual and family levels were significantly related to CS‐IPV perpetration even bivariately. Results imply somewhat different risk profiles across gender and identify ecological risk factors of men's CS‐IPV not previously studied.     

Same‐Sex Couples,Families, and Marriage: Embracing and Resisting Heteronormativity1

This article focuses on lesbian and gay couples and families and the politics of same‐sex marriage. Drawing from the literature on same‐sex couples, same‐sex marriage, and queer theory’s concept of heteronormativity, we argue that gay and lesbian couples and families both affirm and challenge heterosexual and gendered family forms. First, we review literature that discusses how same‐sex relationships and families are similar to and different from conventional heterosexual relationships and families. Second, we discuss the socio‐legal and cultural inequalities faced by LGBT families. Third, we discuss the politics of same‐sex marriage, examining the debate among social conservatives, pro‐marriage activists, and queer critics over the desirability of same‐sex marriage. We conclude that the growing visibility of LGBT couples and families has made their exclusion from the institution of marriage more conspicuous and that recognition of LGBT relationships and families seems likely to increase.     

The Stability of Same‐Sex Cohabitation,Different‐Sex Cohabitation,and Marriage

This study contributes to the emerging demographic literature on same‐sex couples by comparing the level and correlates of union stability among 4 types of couples: (a) male same‐sex cohabitation, (b) female same‐sex cohabitation, (c) different‐sex cohabitation, and (d) different‐sex marriage. The author analyzed data from 2 British birth cohort studies: the National Child Development Study (N = 11,469) and the 1970 British Cohort Study (N = 11,924). These data contain retrospective histories of same‐sex and different‐sex unions throughout young adulthood (age 16–34) from 1974 through 2004. Event‐history analyses showed that same‐sex cohabitations have higher rates of dissolution than do different‐sex cohabiting and marital unions. Among same‐sex couples, male couples had slightly higher dissolution rates than did female couples. In addition, same‐sex couples from the 1958 and 1970 birth cohorts had similar levels of union stability. The demographic correlates of union stability are generally similar for same‐sex and different‐sex unions.     

Couple‐Level Economic and Career Concerns and Intimate Partner Violence in Young Adulthood

Family scholars have demonstrated that economic conditions influence marital quality and relationship instability. Similarly, researchers have identified low income and poverty as important risk factors for intimate partner violence (IPV). Yet limited work has examined how economic factors influence the use of violence in the romantic context, particularly during young adulthood. Using the Toledo Adolescent Relationships Study (n = 928), the authors examined the influence of economic and career concerns as specific sources of conflict on IPV among a sample of young adults. Findings suggest that these areas of disagreement within romantic relationships are associated with IPV risk, net of traditional predictors. The implications of our findings for intervention and prevention efforts are discussed.     

Intimate partner violence,health, sexuality,and academic performance among a national sample of undergraduates

ABSTRACT

Objective: To determine the association between intimate partner violence (IPV) and academic performance among heterosexual and sexual minority undergraduates, including whether health mediates this relationship. Participants: A national sample of undergraduate students aged 18–24 years old who completed the 2011–2014 National College Health Assessment IIb (N = 85,071). Methods: We used structural equation modeling to create a latent variable of IPV victimization (stalking, physical, sexual, and emotional violence) in order to test its relationship with health (physical and mental) and two indicators of academic performance (GPA and perceived academic difficulties), according to participants’ sexual identity (heterosexual, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and unsure). Results: Regardless of sexual identity, undergraduates who reported IPV were more likely to have lower GPA and increased academic difficulties. Health mediates this relationship, such that IPV reduces health, which negatively affects performance. Conclusions: IPV poses a serious threat to undergraduates’ health and educational success. Findings warrant universal prevention and intervention.     

Same‐Sex Parent Families and Children's Academic Achievement

Children in traditional families (i.e., married, 2 biological parents) tend to do better than their peers in nontraditional families. An exception to this pattern appears to be children from same‐sex parent families. Children with lesbian mothers or gay fathers do not exhibit the poorer outcomes typically associated with nontraditional families. Studies of same‐sex parent families, however, have relied on a static conceptualization of the family and discounted the importance of the timing and number of family transitions for understanding children's outcomes. To examine whether same‐sex parent families represent an exception among nontraditional families, the author used data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study—Kindergarten cohort (N = 19,043) to create a dynamic indicator of children's family structure and tested its association with math assessment scores. The results indicated that children in same‐sex parent families scored lower than their peers in married, 2‐biological parent households, but the difference was nonsignificant net of family transitions.     

Intimacy and Emotion Work in Lesbian,Gay, and Heterosexual Relationships

Knowledge about how gender shapes intimacy is dominated by a heteronormative focus on relationships involving a man and a woman. In this study, the authors shifted the focus to consider gendered meanings and experiences of intimacy in same‐sex and different‐sex relationships. They merged the gender‐as‐relational perspective—that gender is co‐constructed and enacted within relationships—with theoretical perspectives on emotion work and intimacy to frame an analysis of in‐depth interviews with 15 lesbian, 15 gay, and 20 heterosexual couples. They found that emotion work directed toward minimizing and maintaining boundaries between partners is key to understanding intimacy in long‐term relationships. Moreover, these dynamics, including the type and division of emotion work, vary for men and women depending on whether they are in a same‐sex or different‐sex relationship. These findings push thinking about diversity in long‐term relationships beyond a focus on gender difference and toward gendered relational contexts.     

Postdivorce Father‐Adolescent Closeness

Research indicates that closeness of the father‐child bond following parental divorce is associated with better outcomes for children and adolescents. Unlike other investigations, this study takes a long‐term developmental approach to understanding stability and change in postdivorce father‐adolescent relationship closeness. Drawing on Add Health data (n = 483), we examine factors that explain (a) why some high‐quality father‐adolescent relationships remain the same after divorce whereas others decline, and (b) why some low‐quality relationships are stable following divorce whereas others improve. High mother‐offspring relationship quality and offspring feelings of well‐being prevented close father‐offspring relationships from deteriorating. Offspring’s childbearing and cohabitation following parental divorce increase closeness in father‐offspring relationships that were not close prior to divorce. Although a majority of offspring experienced a decline in closeness following divorce, results from this study show that some very close father‐offspring relationships are maintained and some poor relationships become closer.     

Attitudinal and Behavioral Factors Associated with Extramarital Sex Among Nigerian Men: Findings from a National Survey

ABSTRACT

Using couple data from a national survey, this article examines couple's characteristics associated with extramarital sex among Nigerian men. We found 15.4% of married men had extramarital sex in the past 12 months. Extramarital sex was significantly associated with men's attitude toward extramarital sex (OR = 1.7 [1.4–3.0]), early sexual debut (OR = 1.9 [1.6–2.3]), alcohol use (OR = 1.7 [1.4–2.1]), and intimate partner violence against wife (IPV) (OR = 1.4 [1.2–1.7]). Increased wife's education was associated with decreased husband's extramarital sex. Men living in rural areas and in the Central and Southern regions were also more likely to have extramarital sex. The findings suggest useful implications for HIV prevention programs in Nigeria. Interventions should focus on influencing social norms around protective behaviors for men to avoid risks associated with extramarital sex and IPV, helping men to change attitudes toward extramarital sex and IPV, and promoting delay in age at first sex among young men.     

Long‐Term Heterosexual Cohabiters and Attitudes toward Marriage

Limited research has specifically examined long‐term heterosexual cohabiters (LTHCs), whose lengthy unions challenge the notion that cohabitation is a life stage. Drawing upon in‐depth interviews with 48 LTHCs, this article identifies six themes that LTHCs use to talk about their attitudes toward marriage. Three of these themes highlight ways in which heterosexuals are trying to construct anti‐oppressive heterosexual identities. These six themes are especially structured by social class, elucidating a broader class‐based bifurcation of family life in the United States. These findings challenge existing paradigms about cohabitation and illuminate the diversity of reasons people choose to cohabitate. Implications for broader shifts in intimate life are discussed.     

Clergy training for effective response to intimate partner violence disclosure: Immediate and long-term benefits

ABSTRACT

This study reports findings from an intimate partner violence-training project in which 104 Seventh-Day Adventist pastors received a 4-hr training in responding effectively to intimate partner violence (IPV) disclosure. The educational endeavor targeted three areas for improvement in clergy response: (a) increasing pastors’ understanding of the unique dynamics in abusive relationships, (b) providing information on IPV resources and services, and (c) developing pastors’ abilities and motivations to be proactive in addressing IPV. Pretest, posttest and 1-year follow up data indicate that pastors who engaged in IPV training demonstrated immediate and long-term positive changes. Specifically, participants showed improvements in each of the targeted areas. Beyond the gains in knowledge and attitudes about IPV, the study results also indicate that pastors receiving training expanded their activities to positively address IPV in their congregations. Social workers can play a significant role in addressing clergy training needs by strengthening pastors’ abilities to respond appropriately to parishioners’ IPV disclosures.     

Planned Gay Father Families in Kinship Arrangements

The current study examined whether there are differences between gay father families (n = 36) and heterosexual families (n = 36) on father‐child relationship, fathers' experiences of parental stress and children's wellbeing. The gay fathers in this study all became parents while in same‐sex relationships. They donated sperm to lesbian couples and then shared the child‐rearing with them in kinship arrangements. It was also examined whether aspects that are related specifically to gay fathers (i.e., experiences of rejection, having to defend their family situation, with whom the children live, and conflicts with the children's mothers) are also related to the father‐child relationship, parental stress and children's wellbeing. Data were collected by means of questionnaires filled in by the fathers. No significant differences between the family types were found on emotional involvement and parental concern in the father‐child relationship, parental burden (as an aspect of parental stress) or the children's wellbeing. However, gay fathers felt less competent in their child‐rearing role than heterosexual fathers. For gay fathers especially, experiences of rejection and the feeling that they have to defend their situation were significantly related to father‐child relationship, parental stress and children's wellbeing.     

Assortative Mating Among Dutch Married and Cohabiting Same‐Sex and Different‐Sex Couples

The authors compared male and female same‐sex and different‐sex couples in the Netherlands with respect to age and educational homogamy. Because many same‐sex couples in the Netherlands are married, differences between married and cohabiting couples were analyzed for all 3 groups. Analyses of data from the Dutch Labor Force Surveys 2001–2007 (N = 184,999 couples) showed that male same‐sex couples are less homogamous in terms of age and education than different‐sex couples. Female same‐sex couples are less homogamous in terms of age, but not in terms of education. No meaningful differences were found between married couples and cohabiting couples. Partnership status appeared less important than the sex composition of the couple. Given the relatively tolerant climate toward homosexuals in the Netherlands, the similarity of the results with those yielded by studies conducted in the United States may be considered striking.     

Money management and views of civil partnership in same‐sex couples: results from a UK survey of non‐heterosexuals

Recent legislation in the UK has extended many of the legal and financial rights and responsibilities of heterosexual marriage to same‐sex couples who register their partnerships. Prior to the Civil Partnership Act (2004) however, little was known about financial arrangements in same‐sex couples, nor the extent to which these mirrored those of married or cohabiting heterosexuals. This paper reports the findings from the first large‐scale survey in the UK to investigate finances and civil partnership beliefs in a convenience sample of non‐heterosexuals: 510 individuals, of whom 386 were currently in a same‐sex relationship, participated in the survey. Our findings showed less merging of finances (such as in pooling, allowance, and whole wage systems) than is typical in heterosexual married couples. The results of a series of multinomial logistic regression analyses showed that rating CP as more important, and having both names on the mortgage, significantly reduced the odds of independent (ie, separate) management of finances. Participants were almost unanimous in their endorsement of CP as a form of legal recognition, with a large majority saying that they would also consider it for themselves.