Running Head: Social Acceptance, Social Capital and LGBT health

Background: Social acceptance of LGBT individuals may have a greater positive effect on self-­‐ rated health and subjective wellbeing of individuals living in same-­‐sex couples than for those living in opposite-­‐sex couples. Social capital, on individual level and country level, may act as a mediator in this relation. Purpose: The mediating role of social capital on the association between social LGBT acceptance and both self-­‐rated health and subjective well-­‐being was studied. Moreover, differences between individuals living in same-­‐sex or in opposite-­‐sex couples in these relations have been examined. Methods: Out of 50,781 respondents, 315 individuals living with a same-­‐sex partner have been derived from the 2010 European Social Survey, which were matched and compared to an equal number of individuals living in an opposite-­‐sex couple. Multilevel regression analyses were performed to estimate path coefficients and to test for differences between same-­‐sex couples and opposite-­‐sex couples by applying mediation and interaction techniques. Results: Although social LGBT acceptance was significantly linked to better self-­‐rated health and subjective well-­‐being in all individuals, it did not fulfilled a mediating role. Furthermore, no differences were found between individuals living in same-­‐sex and opposite-­‐sex couples. As distinct from sexual orientation, sexuality-­‐based discrimination has a significantly negative effect on both of these health-­‐related outcomes. Conclusions: Social LGBT acceptance was found to be an important social determinant of health and well-­‐being of individuals living in couples. The findings from this study imply that social LGBT acceptance should be enhanced in order to increase the level of social capital in society and to, hence, improve physical and mental health for all couples.