Trends in Research on the Relationships of Sexual Minorities Over Time: A Systematic Review

Authors: Ethan Severance, Matthew Shulman, Janeva Jones, Alana Riso, Matthew Johnson

Field of Study: Psychology

Program Affiliation: Center for Transdisciplinary Research on Intimate Relationships

Faculty Mentors: Matthew Johnson

Easel: 83

Timeslot: Afternoon

Abstract: Despite decades of research on romantic relationship quality in sexual minority couples, few have investigated trends in this research over time. This study screened 1,039 articles from six databases and identified 121 studies examining potential correlates of relationship quality in a sample of sexual minorities. Using the framework of the Vulnerability Stress Adaptation (VSA; Karney & Bradbury, 1995) model, these study constructs were categorized into the central VSA components of adaptive processes, stressful events, and enduring vulnerabilities. Organizing constructs using four historically-influenced time intervals (1990-2003, 2004-2014, 2015-2020, 2020-2024), it was found that research pertaining to adaptive processes was initially high, dropped substantially, and then gradually re-increased; research pertaining to enduring vulnerabilities started low, then peaked before gradually decreasing; and research pertaining to stressful events remained relatively stagnant. These findings reveal gaps in research on sexual minority couples and provide insight into how historic events may have influenced the evolution of the literature.