In other words, to deny same-sex relationships the protections that allow for greater levels of social support for one's relationship is to put these individuals in jeopardy for their health and well-being, something which should be much more difficult to justify as just. Thus, the importance of this study is clear. Despite this, the study is not without its limitations. The sample used was disproportionately female, thus making it difficult to assess the role that gender may play in the manipulation of the variables in question. The sample was also rather homogeneous, being predominantly young, white, and well-educated, thus further limiting the scope to which the results of the study might be generalizable. Perhaps the role that support plays for relationships has drastically different outcomes within different cultures, or among different age groups. The major weaknesses contributing to the validity and reliability of the study concern the measures used. For the most part, measures of the variables in question did not clearly exist and thus the authors had to make do with altered versions of other measures. For example, their measure of support for the relationship from parents vs. friends was based on a previous study in which participants were presented with lists of behaviours, which might be deemed either approving or disapproving with respect to one's feelings towards a relationship. This was not a validated measure of support for relationships,...

As well, the entire study was based on self-report measures, which always comes with a limitation. For one, self-report can be subject to bias, in that participants are being asked to provide their own perspective on the variables in question, which may or may not be objectively true. This can be of particular concern for variables concerning physical health. Future research may be able to add to this study by using actual measures of physical health, which can be substantiated by medical professionals.
There is also the question of Internet methodology. When conducting research online, it is impossible to know from where participants are coming, who they truly are, or whether or not they are participating in the study more than once. The authors suggest that they did do their best to control for these possible problems, and it does not seem likely that Internet research methodology has severely limited the validity of the conclusions drawn in this study, but nevertheless it would be interesting to see the results of a study conducted through traditional measures.

References

Blair, K.L. & Holmberg, D. (2008). Perceived social network support and well-being in same-sex vs. mixed-sex romantic relationships. Journal of Social…