CHE Stage II Grant Application

CHE Stage II Grant Application

Project Name

Examining Infidelity Impacts on Same-Sex Marriages and Assessing What Happens After the Conflict

Project Summary

Same-sex marriage is presently facing the major issue of infidelity just as heterosexual couples. This project aims at analyzing the issue of cheating and its effects that happen in the marriages. Qualitative methods will get used, with gay participants.

Total Request from CHE

Total is $10,666

POPULATION TO BE SERVED

This program aims at addressing the issue of infidelity in gay marriages due to its impact on the decisions made by partners to leave or remain in a relationship. The program will also focus on identifying various health physical and psychological issues faced by gay partners to guide the awareness strategies in essence, open discussions aimed at reducing marital tensions and the rate of infidelity in same-sex marriages. This grant will mainly serve gay couples in my community. Through this project, personalized awareness programs will be implemented through community participation and professional organizations to reach out to more gay couples and address a wide range of issues faced in their relationships. This program will include gay participants from the community, who will assist in conducting the study through answering questions during data collection. According to Copeland, Hasell, and Bimber (2016), most of the organizations that are concerned with gay marriages are civil and human rights organizations which means that for this project to be possible, a partnership is reasonable, and these organizations are suitable to aid with funding. The organization found suitable was the American Foundation for Equal Rights. Considering that most of the gay couples suffer in silence due to the fear of backlash from the society, considerable challenges are expected in convincing them to talk about abuse, depression, and illnesses arising from infidelity in their relationships (Frederick & Fales, 2016). This will increase the number of gay couples seeking counselling and treatment as well as reduce the incidence of cheating.

Since the program will result in an increase in the number of gay couples seeking counselling and treatment, it shall also incorporate research on the treatment plans and strategies, and aid in the conduction of more research that will allow clinicians to develop more effective treatment plans and strategies. Knowledge is also going to get provided in public platforms such as social media which will provide gay people with knowledge of where to get help on infidelity and other related issues like illnesses that come as a result. The research that the program will facilitate will also aim at ensuring the refinement of the existing aid given to gay people in terms of treatment. A major concern is the continued provision of the services after the program. There shall be provision of follow up services as well as ongoing treatment by the stakeholders of the program.

In recent years, same-sex marriages have been officially legalized in the state of Nebraska and other countries in America. The number of same-sex couples in the Nebraska area is about 3749 couples, a drastic rise from 2332 couples that were reported in 2000. It is estimated that approximately five in every 1000 households have same-sex couples. Further, in that area of the state, 717 same-sex couples are living in Lincoln. Most of these same-sex marriages are female constituting, about 70% (Young, 2020).  Male same-sex marriage represents about 22%, and the other 8% are transgender associated marriage. 85% of 72% of married couples have permanent employment, and the average same-sex couple age is 40 years.

From the above data, it is clear that the area of Lincoln has a significant number of same-sex marriages. Many cases of infidelity have been reported in the area, and they are mainly related to trust issues, arguments, selfishness, and envy, and unsatisfactory sex life. Infidelity is known to bring about economic, social, and health issues among couples. The project, under the health innovation, intends to solve these issues in marriages and the associated effects on the individuals in the relationship. Research has proven that the item is a severe problem in marriages that can cause the development of deeper emotions by either of the partners. The other consequences of infidelity in marriages are the development of anger, hatred, jealousy, and rivalry among the couples, and this, if not solved, may lead to fights and murders. This project will be able to conduct thorough research on the matter by conducting qualitative research that will involve 20 gay people that are well recruited for participation. Among the 20 couples, ten couples have remained in the relationship, and the other ten has decided to break up permanently. The research will consider the ethical issues in data collection as each of the couples will require to be recruited and will have a relationship period of at least two years without any outside relationship. Participant confidentiality and anonymity will be highly protected. Participant withdrawal from the interviews will be acceptable. This project will enable the answering of the question of the reasons why people in a relationship decide to cheat on their marriage partners. The project will also address why some couples will choose to stay in the relationship and others to leave after an infidelity case.

PROJECT OUTCOMES

This project aims at researching on the issue of cheating in gay marriages and its effects, and also finding the treatment plans and strategies while ensuring that gay couples know where to get assistance whenever they need it. The outcomes of this project, therefore include ensuring that gay people have an open platform where they can feel free to express themselves and receive treatment post gay marriage. The baseline measure is the number of people that will express an interest in the program. While the program collects data from twenty gay couple participants, if the program is effective, then more gay people will reach out. An increasing number of gay people reaching out, therefore, is the indicator for progress. Also, the increase in solutions for the challenges that the gay people face will indicate progress. The evaluation of the project will be outcome based, which according to Yi, Kun, and Anling (2017) examines broader impacts and investigate the greater good done by a program.

The success of this project will see a reduction in the conflicts that are associated with infidelity in same-sex marriages in the area. A thorough examination of the causes of relationship dissatisfaction will be analyzed and interpreted to come up with proper solutions and recommendations. Data results that are obtained from this project will be used to determine the likelihood of conflict-eruption in same-sex marriage and propose possible prevention measures and awareness of these domestic issues. This project will provide many counselling and psychiatric centres with the information necessary in the administering of therapies to the couples, thus minimizing the harmful consequences of relationship conflict. The detailed analysis of infidelity in marriages will offer information about the driving factors to cheating, possible ways of avoiding adultery, and how to deal with infidelity cases in a relationship. This analysis will ensure that the issue is minimized. The area will benefit from having happy and healthy relationships and families that have minimal domestic violence. Since children are also affected by this issue, most of them will have stable families that provide the necessary care for them if the problem is minimized (Arkes, 2015). After the project, the frequent observatory recording method will measure the research outcomes by determining the number of domestic violence every year in the area in selected households to assess the changes.

The ultimate result of this study is that it will provide relationship counsellors and therapists sufficient information to develop evidence-based treatment programs for couples having emotional and physical health issues due to infidelity in their relationships (Leeker & Carlozzi, 2014). The research will measure variables such as the rate of separation due to cheating, individual perceptions of infidelity, and the possible outcomes in same-sex marriages. This will be accomplished through data collection surveys involving the selected gay couples. This research will create a strong foundation for future research on the incidence and impacts of infidelity on the marriage relationship, especially among same-sex partners.

PROJECT OVERVIEW AND ACTIVITIES

The goal of this research project is to investigate the issue of infidelity in gay marriages through research that will focus on the problems affecting partners, mainly due to the increased risk of depression and related health issues. The research will be based on a real study of a group of gay couples who will provide relevant data on their experiences and share some of the coping mechanisms that they consider sufficient. Therefore, the data used to draw conclusions on this research will be first primary and a reflection of the ideal issues. Additionally, the study will leverage the literature review of the recent, peer-reviewed publications on the subject of infidelity in gay relationships. The data will be sufficient to address the research question and its objectives. The central hypothesis is that the creation of awareness and structural frameworks for identifying and reaching out to the people suffering the consequences of infidelity in gay marriages is an effective solution to address depression and physical health concerns (Compton & Bowman, 2017). This research aims to examine the impact of infidelity on same-sex marriages, considering the increase in the cases. The study will explore possible reasons why conflicts arise among same-sex marriages and the factors influencing the decision by partners to quit or stay in such relationships. Moreover, this research will address various causes of dissatisfaction among gay partners and their role in increased cases of infidelity.

EXPECTED BARRIERS/CHALLENGES

The implementation of this program is likely to be faced with severe challenges in funding awareness campaigns and creating frameworks to give gay couples the confidence to seek help. Considering that most of the gay couples suffer in silence due to the fear of backlash from the society, considerable challenges are expected in convincing them to talk about abuse, depression, and illnesses arising from infidelity in their relationships (Frederick & Fales, 2016). My hopes for the implementation of this program are that it will promote awareness concerning adultery and its impacts on same-sex marriages. This will increase the number of gay couples seeking counselling and treatment as well as reduce the incidence of infidelity.

DIVERSE PERSPECTIVES

This program will be held in my community and the surrounding geographical area where there are a majority of homosexual married couples. The program fits both the CHE and the NIH funding program priorities, including the under three years funding deadline. The research will ease the psychological tension that married gay couples have over infidelity matters. This project will work under health innovations in the enhancement of health care and the determination of community-based solutions. If this project is funded, the first step will involve the preparation of all research materials and equipment. The content includes question books, pens, interview emails, recorders, and telephone credit cards. The project will incur every cost spent by the participants. After the materials are ready, the next step will be the preparation of all the research participants, including the couples and the interviewers. The participant preparation will involve the confirmation of the set of qualifications and conditions. The data collection session is scheduled to take place at the same time through emails, telephoning, and face to face interviews. During the process, the participant anonymity and confidentiality will be preserved. After the collection of the data, an accurate, data-driven thematic analysis will be conducted. This analysis will find the meaning of the explored patterns to generate themes about infidelity among same-sex couples. The readability and the validity of the research will be taken seriously for the project to be a realist. Throughout the plans, the concepts of credibility, transferability, and flexibility will be strictly followed to ensure the reliability and validity of the project. The results of the project after analysis will be posted in one of the local newspapers for presentation to the members of the society.

References

Compton, B. L., & Bowman, J. M. (2017). Perceived cross-orientation infidelity: Heterosexual perceptions of same-sex cheating in exclusive relationships. Journal of homosexuality, 64(11), 1469-1483.

Copeland, L., Hasell, A., & Bimber, B. (2016). Collective action frames, advocacy organizations, and protests over same-sex marriage. International Journal of Communication, 10, 23.

Frederick, D. A., & Fales, M. R. (2016). Upset over sexual versus emotional infidelity among gay, lesbian, bisexual, and heterosexual adults. Archives of sexual behaviour, 45(1), 175-191.

Leeker, O., & Carlozzi, A. (2014). Effects of sex, sexual orientation, infidelity expectations, and love on distress related to emotional and sexual infidelity. Journal of marital and family therapy, 40(1), 68-91.

Siege, R. (2020). A community in Conflict: Same-Sex Marriage and Backlash – UCLA Law Review. Retrieved 5 March 2020, from https://www.uclalawreview.org/community-conflict-sex-marriage-backlash/

Yi, Z., Kun, Q., & Anling, L. (2017, December). Outcome based evaluation of curriculum goals completion for engineering education. In 2017 IEEE 6th International Conference on Teaching, Assessment, and Learning for Engineering (TALE) (pp. 39-43). IEEE.

Young, J. (2020). Number of Nebraska same-sex couples increases since 2000. Retrieved 5 March 2020, from https://journalstar.com/news/local/number-of-nebraska-same-sex-couples-increases-since/article_38577170-470e-5359-bdf6-805886ea51fa.html

Young, J. (2020). Number of Nebraska same-sex couples increases since 2000. Retrieved 5 March 2020, from https://journalstar.com/news/local/number-of-nebraska-same-sex-couples-increases-since/article_38577170-470e-5359-bdf6-805886ea51fa.html