The data showed that homosexuality as a clinical entity does not exist and that it is not inherently associated with psychopathology. Finally, during the 1970s, most psychologist and psychiatrists began working to eliminate the stigma against homosexuals.
Homosexuality, however, presents a number of problems in social relationships, according to studies. In a working paper by Andersson based on data from legally registered same-sex partnerships in Sweden, homosexual male couples were 1.5 times as likely (50% more likely) to "divorce" as married opposite-sex couples. Lesbian couples were 2.67 times as likely (167% more likely) to "divorce" as heterosexual married couples. Similarly Kurdek found that compared with heterosexual cohabiting or married couples, male homosexual couples and lesbian couples were more likely to experience the dissolution of a cohabiting relationship. Homosexuals are also much more prone to suicide (Qin), especially when they are in their teens because they are concerned about not being accepted.
McFarland concludes:
Male couples have been shown to face unique challenges. However, many men feel their love for one another is worth every sacrifice. Marriage and family therapists can help thwart the social pressures that gay couples experience, but they will need special sensitivity and training to be most effective. For gay couples, a respectful, open, and creative approach will help them to endure in a hostile world.
References
Andersson, Gunnar. "Divorce-Risk Patterns in Same-Sex Marriages in Norway...
Presented at Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America. April 1-3, 2004, 1-28.
APA Online. "Answers to Your Questions About Sexual Orientation and Homosexuality." American Psychology Association. Retrieved 09 June 2005. http://www.apa.org/pubinfo/answers.html
Boswell, J. Christianity, social tolerance and homosexuality. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1980.
Ellis, H. Studies in the psychology of sex: Volume 2: Sexual inversion. Philadelphia: F.A. Davis, 1901.
Freud, Sigmund. Three essays on the theory of sexuality. In J. Strachey (Ed. And Trans.), the standard edition of the complete psychological works of Sigmund Freud. 7, 123-245. London: Hogarth Press, 1905.
Hooker, E. The adjustment of the male overt homosexual. Journal of Projective Techniques, 21, 1957, 18-31.
Kurdek, L.A. "Relationship outcomes and their predictors: Longitudinal evidence from heterosexual married, gay cohabiting, and lesbian cohabiting couples." Journal of Marriage and the Family, 60, 1998, 553-568.
McFarland, Larry. "Male Couples in Context: Issues for Therapeutic Consideration"
Paper written for a marriage and family therapy class given by the Department of Family and Child Development at Virginia Tech, April 1993.
Ping, Qin. "Suicide Risk in Relation to Socioeconomic, Demographic, Psychiatric, and Familial Factors: A National Register-Based Study of All Suicides in Denmark, 1981-1997" American Journal of Psychiatry. 160, 2003, 765-772.
