ABSTRACT
The legal landscape of marriage has been linked with personal and relational outcomes, demonstrating an impact on individuals beyond merely dictating what they can and cannot do. Prior to the 2015 Obergefell vs. Hodges decision by the US Supreme Court, marriage for same-sex couples was governed by individual states. Even after the federal recognition of same-sex marriage, sociopolitical opposition led to questions about the permanence of marriage equality. Such considerable changes in marital policies are bound to affect individuals, yet we know little about what individuals know regarding their marital rights and how this knowledge might influence relational outcomes. In this chapter, we assessed changes in individuals’ legal knowledge before and after the federal legalization of same-sex marriage and whether legal knowledge was associated with relational outcomes. Participants were 545 individuals in same-sex and different-sex relationships. Legal knowledge was lower for individuals in same-sex relationships, declined over time for those in same-sex and different-sex relationships, and displayed uniform associations with relationship commitment among those in same-sex and different-sex relationships.
