The Influence of Stress on Depression and Substance Use Problems Among Young Male Same-Sex Couples: Relationship Functioning as an Underlying Mechanism

Abstract

Stress experienced by either partner in a couple can have a negative impact on each partner’s health, but most dyadic research on stress and health has focused on different-sex couples. We examined relationship functioning as a mechanism underlying the longitudinal actor and partner effects of stress on depression and substance use problems among 109 young male same-sex couples. There were significant indirect actor effects of internalized stigma and microaggressions on depression and alcohol use problems through negative relationship interactions. Participants who reported higher levels of internalized stigma and microaggressions reported increases in negative relationship interactions, which in turn was associated with reporting greater depression and alcohol use problems. In contrast, none of the indirect partner effects were significant. Findings implicate negative relationship interactions as a mechanism linking minority stress to health but raise questions about the influence of partner stress on individual health among young male same-sex couples.

Mechanisms of Mental-Health Disparities Among Minoritized Groups: How Well Are the Top Journals in Clinical Psychology Representing This Work?

“…Finally, several studies assessed both the external stress events and internal stress processes (Feinstein et al, 2012(Feinstein et al, , 2017(Feinstein et al, , 2018(Feinstein et al, , 2019Karlsen et al, 2005;Kimmel & Mahalik, 2006;Lehavot & Simoni, 2011;Pachankis & Bränström, 2018;Pachankis, Hatzenbuehler, et al, 2015;Sarno et al, 2020;Smith et al, 2020;Testa et al, 2017;Timmins et al, 2018;Vincent et al, 2017). A few of these studies evidenced strong assessment of both external and internal factors (e.g., Pachankis, Hatzenbuehler, et al, 2015;Sarno et al, 2020;Testa et al, 2017;Timmins et al, 2018), whereas others used single items to capture each factor (e.g., Karlsen et al, 2005;Kimmel & Mahalik, 2006).…”

Intimate Pride: A Tri-Nation Study on Associations between Positive Minority Identity Aspects and Relationship Quality in Sexual Minorities From German-Speaking Countries

“…Studies on people with diverse sexual orientations have found associations (Feinstein et al, 2019;Frost & Meyer, 2009;Guschlbauer et al, 2019;Haas & Lannutti, 2021;Liang & Huang, 2021;Vale & Bisconti, 2021) between relationship quality (e.g., satisfaction) and mental health outcomes (e.g., depression) in small to moderate ranges (rs = -.17 to -.41). Our estimate borders this lower threshold.…”

“…Empirical (e.g., Feinstein et al, 2019;Meuwly & Davila, 2021;Newcomb et al, 2021;Totenhagen et al, 2018) and theoretical (e.g., LeBlanc et al, 2015;Newcomb, 2020) work in this area typically integrates minority stressors into broader models of stress and relationship functioning (e.g., Karney & Bradbury, 1995;Randall & Bodenmann, 2017). Across this work, it is postulated (or shown empirically) that minority stress has a negative association with individual mental health (LeBlanc et al, 2015), engagement in intimacy and public displays of affection (Guschlbauer et al, 2019;Hocker et al, 2021;Szymanski & Hilton, 2013), as well as individual and dyadic coping resources (Meuwly & Davila, 2021;Totenhagen et al, 2018), collectively demonstrating the negative associations between minority stress and relationship functioning.…”

Prospective effects of internalized stigma on same-sex relationship satisfaction: The mediating role of depressive symptoms and couple conflict.

“…The few studies that have investigated partner effects have produced inconsistent results. Several studies have reported either nonsignificant partner effects of internalized stigma on relationship quality (e.g., Feinstein et al, 2018, 2019; Li et al, 2021) or inconsistent partner effects (Otis, Rostosky, et al, 2006). Finally, although Li et al (2021) did not find an overall partner effect of internalized stigma on relationship quality, there was a significant indirect partner effect of internalized stigma on lower relationship quality via intimate partner violence.…”

“…Most studies examining associations between internalized stigma and relationship satisfaction in same-sex couples have been cross-sectional. To our knowledge, only three published longitudinal studies have examined the association between internalized stigma and relationship satisfaction (Barrantes et al, 2017; Feinstein et al, 2019; Mohr & Daly, 2008). Although these studies each found longitudinal actor effects of internalized stigma on lower relationship satisfaction, only one study used dyadic data and did not find evidence of partner effects over time (Feinstein et al, 2019).…”