Sexual Minorities, Social Context, and Union Formation

The current study examines the association between social context and the formation of same-sex coresidential unions, with a particular focus on sexual minorities. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), we examine how the likelihood of forming a same-sex coresidential union differs not only by sexual orientation identity, but also by various indicators of social context. In addition to collecting information on same-sex unions, Add Health includes three unique indicators that capture supportive environments for sexual minorities (whether or not they are out to parents, the percent of households headed by same-sex couples in their census tract, and the percent voting Republican in their county). The final sample size for this study is 11,808 respondents, including 304 sexual minorities. We find evidence that sexual minorities have higher rates of forming a same-sex union the more supportive their social contexts. Our findings underscore the importance of considering context when examining same-sex union formation.