Date of Award

1-1-2024

Language

English

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

College/School/Department

Department of Sociology

Dissertation/Thesis Chair

Katherine Trent

Committee Members

Zoya Gubernskaya, Tse-Chuan Yang

Keywords

Families, Health, Intergenerational Relationships, LGBTQ, Sexual Minority, Sexual Orientation

Subject Categories

Medicine and Health Sciences

Abstract

The three studies in this doctoral dissertation explored overarching themes related to intergenerational relationships, health, and well-being of sexual minority adult children, using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health). The studies have shared but distinctive focal points, including various dimensions of intergenerational relationships, specific subsets of data sources, and methodologies. The first study used two latent growth curve models to examine how intergenerational relationships between adult children and their older parents evolve over time, specifically focusing on the emotional closeness gap between sexual minority and heterosexual adult children. The results showed that sexual minority status was significantly associated with lower emotional closeness to both mothers and fathers during early adulthood. The results also revealed that sexual minority status did not significantly impact the trajectory of maternal and paternal closeness from early to midlife. These findings suggest that sexual minority adult children have poorer intergenerational relationships compared to their heterosexual counterparts, and this disparity persists throughout adulthood without significant improvements over time. The second study investigated the impact of sexual minority status on parental financial assistance, focusing on general assistance and specific types of assistance (i.e., education, housing, and other expenses). The results revealed that, when considering overall financial assistance across all types, there was no significant difference based on sexual minority status; sexual minority adult children were not more or less likely to receive financial assistance compared to their heterosexual counterparts. However, when focusing on educational assistance, being a sexual minority seemed to confer an advantage, as parents were more inclined to provide financial support for the education of their sexual minority adult children. Therefore, the study found that the impact of sexual minority status on parental financial assistance may be type specific. The third study examined the mediating role of intergenerational relationships in the association between sexual orientation and two mental and physical health outcomes, depressive symptoms and self-rated health. The results affirmed the well-established link between sexual minority status and adverse mental and physical health outcomes, with a particularly robust association observed for mental health. Moreover, certain dimensions of intergenerational relationships, such as maternal and paternal closeness were identified as mediators in the relationship between sexual minority status and poor mental and physical health outcomes, although the patterns and relationships varied depending on the specific mediators. Taken together, these three studies present a complex story of how the intergenerational family context shapes the health and well-being of sexual minority individuals. Ultimately the findings highlight the importance of interventions and practices for sexual minority individuals and their families.

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