Does Partnership Protect Sexual Minorities from Health-Related Risks?
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: The social environments of same-sex couples have been improving over time due to increasing social acceptance in both policy and normative environments. And while studies have shown that recognition of same-sex marriage and marriage among gay and lesbian persons has health benefits, widespread health disparities are experienced by people who identify as sexual minorities (e.g., gay, lesbian, bisexual). Using a large, national Swedish survey, we investigate the intersection of sexual identity and relationship status. We find that, like for heterosexual persons, marriages among gay/lesbian respondents are associated with substantial protection from health-related risks; however, cohabitating gay and lesbian respondents also reported fewer health risks compared to their single counterparts. In contrast, bisexual respondents, who are typically partnered with someone of a different gender, do not experience the same degree of protection from health-related risks when partnered. Unpartnered bisexual and gay/lesbian respondents reported substantial health-related risks compared to unpartnered heterosexuals across a wide variety of domains. We did not find systematic differences by gender across our health indicators. Our findings suggest that partnerships among gay and lesbian-identified persons may provide important protections counterbalancing many minority stressors that we did not observe among bisexual respondents. Researchers should incorporate individual-level sexual identity indicators whenever possible when studying the effects of relationship status on health. Moreover, more research is needed to understand the health risk and protective factors of bisexual persons and their relationships.
Language: English
Subfield: Social Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funder: Vetenskapsrådet
Award: G1384238770
OpenAlex ID: W7130968039