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Article
Measuring the Impact of Legal Recognition of Same-Sex Marriage among Sexual Minority Women
Journal of GLBT Family Studies
  • Laurie A. Drabble, San Jose State University
  • Amy A. Mericle, Alcohol Research Group
  • Angie R. Wootton, University of California - Berkeley
  • Cat Munroe, Alcohol Research Group
  • Libo Li, Alcohol Research Group
  • Karen F. Trocki, Alcohol Research Group
  • Tonda Hughes, Columbia University
Publication Date
6-7-2021
Document Type
Article
DOI
10.1080/1550428X.2021.1935382
Abstract

Reductions in structural stigma, such as gaining access to legalized same-sex marriage, is associated with positive psychological and physical health outcomes among sexual minority adults. However, these positive outcomes may be less robust among sexual minority women (SMW; e.g., lesbian, bisexual, queer) than sexual minority men and new measures are needed to develop a more nuanced understanding of the impact of affirming policies on the health and well-being of SMW. This study assessed the psychometric properties of measures developed to assess the psychosocial impacts of legalized same-sex marriage on the lives of SMW. Participants (N = 446) completed an online survey assessing the psychosocial impact of legalized same-sex marriage in five domains: (1) personal impact, (2) stigma-related concerns, (3) couple impact, (4) LGBTQ community impact, and (5) political/social environment. Psychometric properties of the scales were examined using traditional and Rasch analyses. Personal, concerns, couple, and political/social environment scales demonstrated high internal consistency (α > 0.80), and acceptable levels of reliability even when scales reduced to five items each. The LGBTQ community scale demonstrated adequate internal consistency (α = 0.79) and could only be reduced to 9 items. These scales may be useful in future studies of SMW health and well-being.

Funding Number
R03MD011481
Funding Sponsor
National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities
Keywords
  • Sexual minority women,
  • same-sex marriage,
  • survey,
  • psychosocial impact,
  • psychometrics
Comments

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This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in the Journal of GLBT Family Studies on June 7, 2021, available online: https://doi.org/10.1080/1550428X.2021.1935382.

Creative Commons License
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0
Citation Information
Laurie A. Drabble, Amy A. Mericle, Angie R. Wootton, Cat Munroe, et al.. "Measuring the Impact of Legal Recognition of Same-Sex Marriage among Sexual Minority Women" Journal of GLBT Family Studies Vol. 17 Iss. 4 (2021) p. 371 - 392
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/laurie_drabble/107/