Legal Marriage, Civil Unions, Registered Domestic Partnership and Well-being among Same-Sex Couples

<p>This dissertation used a quantitative method of analysis to explore well-being among couples with different types of legal unions: legal marriage, civil unions, registered domestic partnership. Specifically, this study examined individual, relational, social, and familial components of well-being. Individuals in legally recognized same-sex relationships were recruited for this study. Participants were asked to complete an internet-based survey. Social constructionism provided the theoretical framework for this study. Results show differences among individuals in legally married unions compared to individuals in all other forms of legal unions on measures of satisfaction with life, psychological and physical well-being. Additionally, the results show strong effects for legal marriage on individual well-being when considering couple satisfaction and social support from families and friends. Conclusions for this study suggest that legal marriage may offer a higher level of individual well-being in comparison to other forms of legal unions, while relationship well-being is consistent across all three forms of legal unions.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Counseling and Family Sciences

Year

2015

Author dc:creator

• Schwenke, Naomi J.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Distelberg, Brian
• Fox, Curtis A.
• Gates, Gary J.
• Knudson-Martin, Carmen

• Counseling
• Social and Behavioral Sciences
• Same-sex marriage; Civil Unions; Gay Couples; Unmarried Couples; Well-being; Quality of Life; Social Constructionism; Social Psychology
• Legal Unions; Legal Marriage - Psychological Effects

Statement dc:rights

• This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has granted Loma Linda University a limited, non-exclusive right to make this publication available to the public. The author retains all other copyrights.

Language dc:language

English

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/etd/254

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarsrepository.llu.edu:etd-1252