Gender, relationship power, and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal reactivity to couple conflict

The present study investigates how individuals' gender and their perceptions of power in romantic relationships relate to hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) activity during and after a conflict with their romantic partner. We assessed HPA activity (via salivary cortisol) in 120 same-sex and heterosexual couples before, during, and after a laboratory assessment of couple conflict. Women in both same-sex and heterosexual couples showed greater HPA reactivity to conflict and poorer HPA recovery from conflict, independent of their perceptions of power in their relationship. Gender differences in conflict reactivity were greatest among individuals whose partners reported having low power. Among both women and men, those whose partners reported taking on fewer household responsibilities had greater baseline HPA activity. Individuals in same-sex couples had greater HPA conflict reactivity and poorer conflict recovery than individuals in heterosexual couples. The findings have implications for investigating power, gender, and social marginalization as influences on health-related processes in couples.