Sexual minority couples' health during the transition to marriage

项目摘要 性和性别少数群体（即，女同性恋、男同性恋、双性恋、酷儿或其他非异性恋或非顺式性别） 成年人是一个身心健康差距很大的群体。这个项目 通过关注健康的浪漫关系，解决性和性别少数群体的健康问题， 尤其是在结婚的时候合法婚姻只是最近才提供给性少数夫妇， 截至2015年，美国，但几十年的研究表明，婚姻对健康有益， 异性恋夫妇性和性别少数的压力是健康差距的主要驱动力， 人口和婚姻可能缓解或加剧少数群体夫妇的压力。该纵向 这项研究将探讨性少数压力和婚姻的交叉点。它将以多个 对新婚性少数群体夫妇的分析水平，包括性别认同， 两年后的婚姻，目的如下。1)通过反复的定量调查， 少数民族夫妇（N=250对夫妇）在结婚的头两年，我们将研究少数民族的变化， 压力，关系过程，身心健康，以及关系调解人和 少数民族压力与健康之间的既定联系的调节者。2)通过纵向定性 访谈（N=24-30对从目标1登记的夫妇），我们将探讨婚姻的演变意义， 新婚时期，以及对婚姻如何塑造少数民族压力的看法。3)使用一组配对 （N=100），我们将重复测量压力的生理标志物（皮质醇，α淀粉酶）和相关性 关系互动和夫妻日常生活中的少数民族压力。这项研究将衡量两个自我- 报告的健康和健康的生物介质在性少数夫妇的生活的一个重要过渡。 拟议的R 01是对PAR-21-281关于二元过程和生物心理社会健康的响应，NIH的 跨NIH性和性别少数群体健康研究战略计划（NOT-MD-19-001）和NIMHD的 科学视野。我们的试点数据表明：1）性少数个体面临着健康的独特挑战， 关系的形成，2）他们似乎以一种根本上独特的方式将婚姻视为一种生活选择，以及3） 婚姻是了解性少数夫妇身心健康的潜在关键背景。 这个项目所产生的发现将对一个未被探索的和关键的生活做出重要贡献 和关系的转变：婚姻，这是独特的性取向和社会背景下形成的， 对性少数夫妇的健康有明显的影响。

PROJECT SUMMARY Sexual and gender minority (i.e., lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer or other non-heterosexual or non-cis gender) adults are a population that experiences significant mental and physical health disparities. This project addresses sexual and gender minority health through a focus on the romantic relationship context of health, specifically at the point of marriage. Legalized marriage is only newly available to sexual minority couples in the United States as of 2015, but decades of research have demonstrated that marriage has health benefits for heterosexual couples. Sexual and gender minority stress is a primary driver of health disparities for this population and marriage may buffer or exacerbate minority stress experiences for couples. This longitudinal study will examine the intersection of sexual minority stress and marriage. It will measure health at multiple levels of analysis among recently-married sexual minority couples, inclusive of gender identity, across the first two years of marriage through the following aims. 1) Through repeated quantitative surveys with sexual minority couples (N=250 couples) over the first two years of marriage, we will examine changes in minority stress, relationship processes, and physical and mental health, as well as relationship mediators and moderators of the well-established link between minority stress and health. 2) Through longitudinal qualitative interviews (N=24-30 couples enrolled from Aim 1), we will explore the evolving meaning of marriage over the newlywed period, as well as perceptions of how marriage shapes minority stress. 3) Using a sub-set of couples (N=100), we will repeatedly measure physiological markers of stress (cortisol, alpha amylase) and associations with relationship interactions and minority stress in couples’ daily lives. This study will measure both self- reported health and biological mediators of health at an important transition in sexual minority couples’ lives. The proposed R01 is responsive to PAR-21-281 on dyadic processes and biopsychosocial health, NIH’s Trans-NIH Strategic Plan for Sexual and Gender Minority Health research (NOT-MD-19-001), and NIMHD’s Scientific Vision. Our pilot data suggest that: 1) sexual minority individuals face unique challenges to healthy relationship formation, 2) they appear to view marriage as a life choice in a fundamentally unique way, and 3) marriage is a potentially critical context for understanding sexual minority couples’ mental and physical health. The discoveries generated by this project will make important contributions to an unexplored and critical life and relationship transition: marriage, which is uniquely shaped by the social context of sexual orientation and has clear implications for the health of sexual minority couples.