# The Impact of Romantic Relationships on the Health of Vulnerable Populations during the Transition to Adulthood

> **NIH NIH R03** · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN · 2020 · $78,250

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Romantic relationships are one of the most salient social relationships for health during the transition to
adulthood and into adulthood. Different-sex relationships that develop in the typical stage of life, and certain
relationship structures, such as marriage, are linked to better physical and mental health for heterosexual
individuals. Yet, research on romantic relationships fails to consider the relationship experiences of sexual
minority adolescents and young adults, including lesbian, gay, or bisexual individuals. Sexual minorities face
unique barriers to developing romantic relationships during the transition to adulthood that may offset any
health benefits gained from these relationships. Because sexual minorities experience elevated substance use
and mental health problems compared to their heterosexual counterparts, understanding the role of romantic
relationships in contributing to sexual minority health is critical. The overarching goal of the proposed project is
to establish how associations between sexual minority romantic relationships and health vary by relationship
timing, structure, and quality using data from a large, nationally representative sample. To meet this goal, I will
first identify how sexual minorities form a first dating relationship and romantic union, defined as cohabitation or
marriage, and establish how this timing affects substance use and mental health in adulthood. This research
will provide insight into whether, and how much, sexual minorities deviate from heterosexual individuals' well-
established relationship trajectories, and, how any deviation affects health. Second, I will test how types of and
changes in sexual minority relationship structures throughout the transition to, and into, adulthood contribute to
substance use and mental health. Meeting this objective will establish which relationships structures are more
vulnerable or resistant to substance use or mental health problems. Third, I will examine how relationship
quality moderates the association between relationship structure and health for sexual minorities, which will
provide insight into the characteristics of relationships most protective for health. The proposed project will
enhance our knowledge about how sexual minority relationship timing and structure are either protective or
detrimental for health from adolescence to adulthood, and identify how relationship-specific processes alter
these pathways. The knowledge gained from this research will ground the development of future scholarship
designed to explore additional mechanisms, such as the role of minority stress, through which sexual minority
relationships contribute to, or reduce, health.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9985990
- **Project number:** 5R03HD099417-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN
- **Principal Investigator:** Sara Mernitz
- **Activity code:** R03 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $78,250
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-08-01 → 2022-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9985990

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9985990, The Impact of Romantic Relationships on the Health of Vulnerable Populations during the Transition to Adulthood (5R03HD099417-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9985990. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*