New research
shows that gay and lesbian couples are just as devoted in
their relationships as straight people and that
while being denied marriage or civil unions
doesn't affect their happiness, it does diminish
their likelihood of staying together, Reuters reported
Tuesday.
In two new
studies published in the journal Developmental
Psychology, scientists compared same-sex and
heterosexual couples and assessed their happiness. The first
study, released by the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign, found that as the level of
commitment increased, so did the ability to resolve
conflicts, disproving the myth that gay couples are weaker
than straight ones, according to the study.
"Among the
committed couples, there were very few differences that we
were able to identify either in terms of how satisfied these
couples were, how effectively they interacted with one
another, or how their bodies responded physiologically
while they were interacting with one another,"
Glenn I. Roisman, one of the researchers, told Reuters.
A second study
focused on whether the legal status of a relationship
affected its quality. Researchers from the University of
Washington, the University of Vermont, and San Diego
State University concluded that gay couples -- with
and without civil unions -- found their relationships
more fulfilling than straight married couples. Same-sex
couples without civil unions, though, were more likely
to end their relationships.
"I think
it's very hard to make the case, as has been made,
that these same-sex relationships are fundamentally
different from opposite-sex relationships in the
presence of data like these and other data in the
developmental literature," Roisman told Reuters.
(The Advocate)
