Sara E Mernitz
Biographic Data
| ID | 217446 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Sara E Mernitz |
| GIVEN NAMES | Sara E |
| FAMILY NAME | Mernitz |
| SIGNATURE | MERNITZ S E |
| AFFILIATIONS | The University of Texas at Austin |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-7448-1191 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 12 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 41 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 12 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2017 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
How Aging Same-Sex and Different-Sex Spouses Influence Each Other’s Health Behaviors: Change Over a Six-Year Period
Spouses often influence each other’s health behaviors through social control, yet most research relies on cross-sectional data from different-sex couples. Far less is known about how these dynamics unfold in same-sex marriages or evolve with age, despite their importance for population health. Using longitudinal survey data (n = 614) and daily diary data (n = 524) from mid-to-later-life same- and different-sex couples, we track six-year changes i…
The Gendered Sexual Experiences and Marital Quality of Middle-Aged Same-Sex and Different-Sex Couples
Bisexuality, Romantic Relationships, and Depression: The Role of Relationship Quality
Timing of a First Romantic Union Among Sexual Minority Young Adults
Cohabitation and marriage are critical milestones during the transition to adulthood; however, there is limited research on the timing of young adults’ first same-sex unions. There is some evidence that same-sex unions may be delayed, particularly for men. Further, formation of both same- and different-sex dating relationships, common among sexual minority young adults, may also extend to cohabitation and marriage. We used the National Longitudin…
The role of romantic relationships for sexual minority young adults' depressive symptoms: Does relationship type matter
Timing to a first relationship among youth: Variability by sexual orientation development
Romantic relationships are developmentally salient across the transition to adulthood, yet the timing to a first relationship for sexual minority youth is largely unknown and is complicated by the developmental timing of sexual orientation development. We use the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health to predict the timing to a first relationship among heterosexual and sexual minority youth, defined as those with same-sex attra…
Heteronormativity in the Lives of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Queer Young People
Heteronormativity, as defined in queer theory, is the presumption and privileging of heterosexuality. Research on how young people make sense of and narrate heteronormativity in their own lives is needed to inform theories of heteronormativity. Using queer and intersectional frameworks, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 14 sexual and gender minority young people (ages 18 to 24), analyzed using thematic analysis, to examine how young ad…
Differences in how spouses influence each other's alcohol use in same- and different-sex marriages: A daily diary study
The Psychological Toll of Emotion Work in Same-Sex and Different-Sex Marital Dyads
ObjectiveThis study considers how the provision of daily emotion work may affect the psychological well-being of the emotion worker, and how this linkage may vary for men and women in same- and different-sex marriages.BackgroundEmotion work-work intended to bolster a spouse's well-being by reading and managing the spouse's emotional needs-is common within marital relationships and often gendered, with women more aware of and concerned with emotio…
Two Methods for Studying the Developmental Significance of Family Structure Trajectories
ObjectiveThe objective of this research note is to use both sequence analysis (SA) and repeated-measures latent class analysis (LCA) to identify children's family structure trajectories from birth through age 15 and compare how the two sets of trajectories predict alcohol use across the transition from adolescence into young adulthood.BackgroundContemporary family scholars have studied the influence of changes in family structure, often referred …
A cohort comparison of trends in first cohabitation duration in the United States
OBJECTIVE: This study investigates U.S. first cohabitation duration between young adults born in the 1950s and young adults born in the 1980s, and how socioeconomic resources contribute to cohabitation duration by cohort. METHODS: Using data from the National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth 1979 and 1997 (NLSY79 and NLSY97), I employ life table estimates and competing-risks Cox proportional hazard models to study how cohabitation duration and trans…
The Mental Health Implications of Emerging Adult Long-Term Cohabitation
Despite the growing prevalence of cohabitation, past attempts to identify mental health outcomes from cohabitation do not differentiate by cohabitation duration. The current study investigated the mental health implications from long-term cohabitation, defined as those lasting more than 3 years. Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, I compared the average individual mental health scores between time spent single, or time spent in …
Heteronormativity in the Lives of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Queer Young People
Heteronormativity, as defined in queer theory, is the presumption and privileging of heterosexuality. Research on how young people make sense of and narrate heteronormativity in their own lives is needed to inform theories of heteronormativity. Using queer and intersectional frameworks, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 14 sexual and gender minority young people (ages 18 to 24), analyzed using thematic analysis, to examine how young ad…
A cohort comparison of trends in first cohabitation duration in the United States
OBJECTIVE: This study investigates U.S. first cohabitation duration between young adults born in the 1950s and young adults born in the 1980s, and how socioeconomic resources contribute to cohabitation duration by cohort. METHODS: Using data from the National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth 1979 and 1997 (NLSY79 and NLSY97), I employ life table estimates and competing-risks Cox proportional hazard models to study how cohabitation duration and trans…
The Psychological Toll of Emotion Work in Same-Sex and Different-Sex Marital Dyads
ObjectiveThis study considers how the provision of daily emotion work may affect the psychological well-being of the emotion worker, and how this linkage may vary for men and women in same- and different-sex marriages.BackgroundEmotion work-work intended to bolster a spouse's well-being by reading and managing the spouse's emotional needs-is common within marital relationships and often gendered, with women more aware of and concerned with emotio…
Differences in how spouses influence each other's alcohol use in same- and different-sex marriages: A daily diary study
Two Methods for Studying the Developmental Significance of Family Structure Trajectories
ObjectiveThe objective of this research note is to use both sequence analysis (SA) and repeated-measures latent class analysis (LCA) to identify children's family structure trajectories from birth through age 15 and compare how the two sets of trajectories predict alcohol use across the transition from adolescence into young adulthood.BackgroundContemporary family scholars have studied the influence of changes in family structure, often referred …
The Mental Health Implications of Emerging Adult Long-Term Cohabitation
Despite the growing prevalence of cohabitation, past attempts to identify mental health outcomes from cohabitation do not differentiate by cohabitation duration. The current study investigated the mental health implications from long-term cohabitation, defined as those lasting more than 3 years. Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, I compared the average individual mental health scores between time spent single, or time spent in …
A cohort comparison of trends in first cohabitation duration in the United States
OBJECTIVE: This study investigates U.S. first cohabitation duration between young adults born in the 1950s and young adults born in the 1980s, and how socioeconomic resources contribute to cohabitation duration by cohort. METHODS: Using data from the National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth 1979 and 1997 (NLSY79 and NLSY97), I employ life table estimates and competing-risks Cox proportional hazard models to study how cohabitation duration and trans…
Differences in how spouses influence each other's alcohol use in same- and different-sex marriages: A daily diary study
The Psychological Toll of Emotion Work in Same-Sex and Different-Sex Marital Dyads
ObjectiveThis study considers how the provision of daily emotion work may affect the psychological well-being of the emotion worker, and how this linkage may vary for men and women in same- and different-sex marriages.BackgroundEmotion work-work intended to bolster a spouse's well-being by reading and managing the spouse's emotional needs-is common within marital relationships and often gendered, with women more aware of and concerned with emotio…
Two Methods for Studying the Developmental Significance of Family Structure Trajectories
ObjectiveThe objective of this research note is to use both sequence analysis (SA) and repeated-measures latent class analysis (LCA) to identify children's family structure trajectories from birth through age 15 and compare how the two sets of trajectories predict alcohol use across the transition from adolescence into young adulthood.BackgroundContemporary family scholars have studied the influence of changes in family structure, often referred …
Heteronormativity in the Lives of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Queer Young People
Heteronormativity, as defined in queer theory, is the presumption and privileging of heterosexuality. Research on how young people make sense of and narrate heteronormativity in their own lives is needed to inform theories of heteronormativity. Using queer and intersectional frameworks, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 14 sexual and gender minority young people (ages 18 to 24), analyzed using thematic analysis, to examine how young ad…
Timing to a first relationship among youth: Variability by sexual orientation development
Romantic relationships are developmentally salient across the transition to adulthood, yet the timing to a first relationship for sexual minority youth is largely unknown and is complicated by the developmental timing of sexual orientation development. We use the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health to predict the timing to a first relationship among heterosexual and sexual minority youth, defined as those with same-sex attra…
Timing of a First Romantic Union Among Sexual Minority Young Adults
Cohabitation and marriage are critical milestones during the transition to adulthood; however, there is limited research on the timing of young adults’ first same-sex unions. There is some evidence that same-sex unions may be delayed, particularly for men. Further, formation of both same- and different-sex dating relationships, common among sexual minority young adults, may also extend to cohabitation and marriage. We used the National Longitudin…
The role of romantic relationships for sexual minority young adults' depressive symptoms: Does relationship type matter
The Gendered Sexual Experiences and Marital Quality of Middle-Aged Same-Sex and Different-Sex Couples
Bisexuality, Romantic Relationships, and Depression: The Role of Relationship Quality
How Aging Same-Sex and Different-Sex Spouses Influence Each Other’s Health Behaviors: Change Over a Six-Year Period
Spouses often influence each other’s health behaviors through social control, yet most research relies on cross-sectional data from different-sex couples. Far less is known about how these dynamics unfold in same-sex marriages or evolve with age, despite their importance for population health. Using longitudinal survey data (n = 614) and daily diary data (n = 524) from mid-to-later-life same- and different-sex couples, we track six-year changes i…
Psychology (9 works) · Demography (6 works) · Developmental psychology (6 works) · Sociology (6 works) · Young adult (6 works) · Attachment and Relationship Dynamics (5 works) · Family Dynamics and Relationships (5 works) · Lesbian (5 works) · LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy (5 works) · Reproductive Health and Technologies (5 works)