Psychology
Document Type
Article
Abstract
When LGBTQ+ people get married, they enter into a union that promises mutual reliance and caregiving, such as in the event of financial need or health care crisis. This mixed-methods study explores how 484 married LGBTQ+ individuals in the United States (192 cisgender men, 186 cisgender women, 106 trans/nonbinary) (a) negotiate disability (38% of couples) and illness in the context of unpaid and paid labor divisions, (b) provide care for each other, and (c) receive support from family in the face of health or financial needs. Findings revealed diversity in the ways that disability and illness shaped household and paid labor, underscoring how flexibility enabled couples to adapt to changes and highlighting the role of marriage in providing security amidst changes. Logistic regression models examining predictors of family support during health or financial crises revealed that participants in couples in which at least one partner (a) had a disability and/or (b) was a partner’s caregiver had greater odds of reporting receiving help in a health care crisis. Participants who were lower income, younger, and perceived their partners’ families as becoming more accepting after marrying had greater odds of reporting financial help from family. Additionally, disability interacted with gender such that those with a disability in female or trans couples were more likely to report financial help than those without, while the reverse was true for male couples. Participants describe multiple forms of family support, revealing the key role of family support during times of crisis and need. © 2025 by the authors.
Publication Title
Social Sciences
Publication Date
10-2025
Volume
14
Issue
10
ISSN
2076-0760
DOI
10.3390/socsci14100605
Keywords
disability, family of origin, financial, health, LGBTQ+, marriage equality, mutual reliance, support
Repository Citation
Goldberg, Abbie E.; Smith, JuliAnna Z.; and Sears, Brad, "Reliance, Support, and Caregiving Among Married LGBTQ+ Americans: Spousal and Family Relationships" (2025). Psychology. 978.
https://commons.clarku.edu/faculty_psychology/978
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright Conditions
Goldberg, A. E., Smith, J. Z., & Sears, B. (2025). Reliance, Support, and Caregiving Among Married LGBTQ+ Americans: Spousal and Family Relationships. Social Sciences, 14(10), 605.
