The Health Disparities of Same-sex Cohabitors at the Intersection of Race-ethnicity and Gender

• Published in: Sociological perspectives Vol. 60; no. 3; pp. 620 - 639
• Main Authors: Liu, Hui, Reczek, Corinne, Mindes, Samuel C. H., Shen, Shannon
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE 01.06.2017; SAGE Publications; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Ethnic groups; Ethnicity; Gender; Gender differences; Health behavior; Health disparities; Health problems; Health research; Health status; Intersectionality; Mental health; Occupational stress; Physical symptoms; Psychological distress; Race; Racial differences; Same sex marriage; Self evaluation; Sex differences; Sexes; Sexual behavior; Stress; race-ethnicity; intersectional perspective; same-sex cohabitors; health disparities; gender
• ISSN: 0731-1214; 1533-8673
• DOI: 10.1177/0731121416663685

We work from a minority stress perspective to theorize health disparities across union status at the intersection of sexual minority status, race-ethnicity, and gender. We use pooled data from the Integrated National Health Interview Surveys (1997–2014) to assess a wide range of health outcomes, including self-rated physical health, psychological distress, and health behaviors. Results suggest that same-sex cohabitors face substantial health disadvantages relative to different-sex married individuals, with little variation by race-ethnicity and gender. Fewer health differences are found for same-sex cohabitors in comparison with both different-sex cohabitors and unpartnered singles, although greater variation by gender and race-ethnicity is found across these comparisons. This study highlights the importance of integrating intersectionality and minority stress theories to guide future research examining sexual minority health disparities. Results suggest that the sexual minority health disadvantage, as well as the potential health boost of same-sex marriage, may depend on the intersection of race-ethnicity and gender.