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Romantic Involvement: a Protective Factor for Psychological Health in Racially-Diverse Young Sexual Minorities

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Romantic Involvement: a Protective Factor for Psychological Health in Racially-Diverse Young Sexual Minorities Journal of Abnormal Psychology © 2018 American Psychological Association 2018, Vol. 127, No. 3, 265–275 0021-843X/18/$12.00 http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/abn0000332 Romantic Involvement: A Protective Factor for Psychological Health in Racially-Diverse Young Sexual Minorities Sarah W. Whitton and Christina Dyar Michael E. Newcomb and Brian Mustanski University of Cincinnati Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine Sexual minority youth experience elevated rates of internalizing disorders; it is, therefore, important to identify protective factors that decrease risk for psychological distress in this population. In this study, we examined whether involvement in a romantic relationship, a well-established protective factor for mental health among heterosexual adults, is also protective for young sexual minorities. Using eight waves of data provided by a community sample of 248 racially diverse sexual minority youth (ages 16–20 years at baseline), we assessed within-person associations between relationship involvement and psychological distress. Results from multilevel structural equation models indicated that, overall, par- ticipants reported less psychological distress at waves when they were in a relationship than when they were not. However, findings differed as a function of race/ethnicity and sexual orientation. Specifically, although relationship involvement predicted lower psychological distress for Black and gay/lesbian participants, the association was not present for White participants and, for bisexuals, relationship involvement predicted higher distress. In addition, relationship involvement reduced the negative association between victimization based on sexual minority status and psychological distress, suggesting a stress-buffering effect that did not differ based on demographic factors. Together, these findings suggest that being in a romantic relationship may promote mental health for many, but not all, young sexual minorities, highlighting the importance of attending to differences among subgroups of sexual minorities in research, theory, and efforts to reduce mental health disparities. General Scientific Summary Marriage is a well-established protective factor for mental health among heterosexual adults. The present study suggests that romantic involvement is also associated with psychological well-being among young sexual minorities, particularly those who are also ethnic minorities and identify as gay or lesbian. Keywords: LGBT, psychological distress, romantic involvement, sexual minorities A large body of research indicates that sexual minority youth buehler, 2009; Meyer, 2003). It is therefore important to identify (i.e., nonheterosexual adolescents and young adults, most of whom factors that are associated with positive mental health among identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual; LGB) experience higher rates young sexual minorities and that may buffer them from the neg- of internalizing psychopathology than do heterosexual youth (In- ative psychological effects of stressors they face because of their stitute of Medicine, 2011; Marshal et al., 2011). These mental sexual orientation (Mustanski, Newcomb, & Garofalo, 2011). health disparities are generally viewed as resulting from the Among heterosexual adults, one well-established protective factor chronic stress associated with living in a society that stigmatizes for mental health is marriage (Kamp Dush & Amato, 2005; Waite This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its alliednonheterosexual publishers. identities and same-sex attractions (Hatzen- & Gallagher, 2000). However, it is not clear whether sexual This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly. This article was published Online First February 1, 2018. cide Prevention grant (PI: Brian Mustanski), the William T. Grant Foun- Sarah W. Whitton and Christina Dyar, Department of Psychology, dation Scholars Award (PI: Brian Mustanski), and the David Bohnett University of Cincinnati; Michael E. Newcomb and Brian Mustanski, Foundation (PI: Brian Mustanski). Some of the hypotheses and results in Department of Medicine Social Sciences and the Institute for Sexual and the manuscript were presented in 2017 at the Annual Meeting of the Gender Health and Wellbeing, Northwestern University Feinberg School Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT) and the 5th of Medicine. Annual National LGBTQ Health Conference. This research was supported by a grant from the National Institute of Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Brian Child and Human Development (R01HD086170; PI: Sarah W. Whitton), a Mustanski, Institute for Sexual and Gender Minority Health and Wellbe- grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (U01DA036939; PI: Brian ing, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, 625 North Mustanski), a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health Michigan Avenue Suite 14-061, Chicago, IL 60611. E-mail: brian@ (R21MH095413; PI: Brian Mustanski), an American Foundation for Sui- northwestern.edu 265 266 WHITTON, DYAR, NEWCOMB, AND MUSTANSKI minorities, particularly youth, also experience a mental health provided by marriage benefits spouses’ well-being by protecting benefit from their romantic relationships. The few studies that have them from the detrimental effects of stressors (Cohen & Wills, investigated associations between romantic involvement and psy- 1985). Research has supported this model in married heterosexual chological health in youth or in sexual minorities are limited by couples, indicating that spousal support reduces the negative ef- cross-sectional designs and inconsistent findings, some of which fects of a wide range of stressors on mental health (Jackson, 1992; even suggest negative effects of relationship involvement on men- Syrotuik & D’Arcy, 1984). tal health. In the current study, we examined whether romantic relationship in- Relationship Involvement and Mental Health Among volvement may influence the psychological health of sexual mi- Adolescents and Young Adults nority adolescents and young adults. Using multiwave longitudinal data provided by a diverse sample of lesbian/gay/bisexual/trans- It remains unclear whether the well-documented “marriage ben- gender (LGBT) youth, we assessed whether relationship involve- efit” to mental health generalizes to the dating relationships of ment had direct effects on psychological distress and whether it young people; there are several theoretical reasons it may not. buffered these youth from negative psychological effects of sexual First, according to socioemotional selectivity theory (Carstensen, minority-specific victimization. Further, we assessed whether any 1992), individuals tend to have many interaction partners during direct or buffering effects of relationship involvement on psycho- adolescence and young adulthood but restrict social contact to logical distress differed by age, gender, race, or sexual orientation fewer individuals, often spouses, as they age. As a result, being (gay/lesbian vs. bisexual). single may not entail the lower levels of social interaction and support for youth that it generally does for adults. Second, young Relationship Involvement and Mental Health Among dating partners may not exert social control over each other’s Heterosexual Adults behaviors in ways that adult spouses do. Because most youth do not live with their romantic partners, they may be less able to A large body of literature on heterosexual adults has docu- monitor each other’s behavior. Also, the social norm that marriage mented the mental health benefits of marriage, which is associated entails “cleaning up your act” and doing what your spouse asks with reduced risk for a wide range of psychological problems you to do (e.g., Umberson, 1987), may not apply when dating (reviewed by Waite & Gallagher, 2000). Married adults, and to a partners are young and unmarried. Third, youth generally do not lesser extent those in nonmarital committed partnerships, have experience the legal and financial benefits of marriage, such as shown better psychological well-being than their single counter- access to each other’s health insurance (Liu, Reczek, & Brown, parts in samples from nearly two dozen countries (Vanassche, 2013). Finally, some theorists have proposed that adolescents lack Swicegood, & Matthijs, 2013); these differences tend to persist the emotional maturity and coping resources to handle the intense even when the quality of the romantic relationship is controlled for emotions and other challenges inherent in intimate relationships, (e.g., Kamp Dush & Amato, 2005; Ross, 1995). Although the so that romantic involvement may actually put them at risk for selection of psychologically healthy individuals into relationships psychological distress (Davila, 2008). On the other hand, devel- may account for some of these effects, longitudinal studies have oping romantic relationship competence represents a central de- consistently indicated that entry into marriage or another type of velopmental task of adolescence and young adulthood (Erikson, committed relationship is followed by improved emotional well- 1950; Roisman, Masten, Coatsworth, & Tellegen, 2004); therefore, being and reduced depression (Kamp Dush & Amato, 2005; Lamb, involvement in an intimate relationship may positively influence Lee, & DeMaris, 2003), which suggests that relationship involve- youth’s mental health by providing them
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