Study: Gay civil unions may last longer

Kimberly F. Balsam and Theodore P. Beauchaine of the University of Washington, Esther D. Rothblum of San Diego State University and Sondra E. Solomon of the University of Vermont followed-up on a 2002 project that focused on legalized relationships of same-sex couples following civil unions in 2000.

Sixty-five male and 138 female couples who entered into civil unions during the first year were available were asked to provide information. They were compared to 23 male and 61 female couples not in civil unions and 55 heterosexual married couples related to the same-sex couples in civil unions.

The study, published in Developmental Psychology, said same-sex couples not in civil unions were more likely to have ended their relationship than same-sex couples in civil unions or heterosexual married couples in the study.

Summary of the study:
 This study was a 3-year follow-up of 65 male and 138 female same-sex couples who had civil unions in Vermont during the 1st year of that legislation. These couples were compared with 23 male and 61 female same-sex couples in their friendship circles who did not have civil unions and with 55 heterosexual married couples (1 member of each was a sibling to a member of a civil union couple). Despite the legalized nature of their relationships, civil union couples did not differ on any measure from same-sex couples who were not in civil unions. However, same-sex couples not in civil unions were more likely to have ended their relationships than same-sex civil union or heterosexual married couples. Compared with heterosexual married participants, both types of same-sex couples reported greater relationship quality, compatibility, and intimacy and lower levels of conflict. Longitudinal predictors of relationship quality at Time 2 included less conflict, greater level of outness, and a shorter relationship length for men in same-sex relationships and included less conflict and more frequent sex for women in same-sex relationships at Time 1. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved)
Five years after Vermont approved gay civil unions, a study indicates legalized same-sex couples may be longer-lasting than those without legal status.
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