eprintid: 10042194 rev_number: 35 eprint_status: archive userid: 608 dir: disk0/10/04/21/94 datestamp: 2018-02-01 13:11:10 lastmod: 2021-09-25 23:12:07 status_changed: 2018-02-01 13:11:10 type: article metadata_visibility: show creators_name: LeBlanc, AJ creators_name: Frost, DM creators_name: Bowen, K title: Legal Marriage, Unequal Recognition, and Mental Health Among Same-Sex Couples ispublished: pub divisions: UCL divisions: B16 divisions: B14 divisions: J81 note: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. abstract: The authors examined whether the perception of unequal relationship recognition - a novel couple-level minority stressor - has negative consequences for mental health among same-sex couples. Data were analyzed from a dyadic study of 100 same-sex couples (200 individuals) in the United States. Being in a legal marriage was associated with lower perceived unequal recognition and better mental health; being in a registered domestic partnership or civil union—but not also legally married—was associated with greater perceived unequal recognition and worse mental health. Actor partner interdependence models tested associations between legal relationship status, unequal relationship recognition, and mental health (nonspecific psychological distress, depressive symptomatology, and problematic drinking), net controls (age, gender, race and ethnicity, education, and income). Unequal recognition was consistently associated with worse mental health, independent of legal relationship status. Legal changes affecting relationship recognition should not be seen as simple remedies for addressing the mental health effects of institutionalized discrimination. date: 2018-04 date_type: published publisher: Wiley-Blackwell official_url: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12460 oa_status: green full_text_type: other language: eng primo: open primo_central: open_green verified: verified_manual elements_id: 1529291 doi: 10.1111/jomf.12460 lyricists_name: Frost, David lyricists_id: DFROS30 actors_name: Dewerpe, Marie actors_id: MDDEW97 actors_role: owner full_text_status: public publication: Journal of Marriage and Family volume: 80 number: 2 pagerange: 397-408 issn: 0022-2445 citation: LeBlanc, AJ; Frost, DM; Bowen, K; (2018) Legal Marriage, Unequal Recognition, and Mental Health Among Same-Sex Couples. Journal of Marriage and Family , 80 (2) pp. 397-408. 10.1111/jomf.12460 <https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12460>. Green open access document_url: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10042194/1/Frost_Unequal%20Recognition%20Paper%20JMF%20final%20accepted.pdf