Adult Romantic Relationships as Contexts of Human Development: A Multimethod Comparison of Same-Sex Couples With Opposite-Sex Dating, Engaged, and Married Dyads

Glenn I. Roisman, Eric Clausell, Ashley Holland, Keren Fortuna, Chryle Elieff

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

99 Scopus citations

Abstract

This article presents a multimethod, multi-informant comparison of community samples of committed gay male (n = 30) and lesbian (n = 30) couples with both committed (n = 50 young engaged and n = 40 older married) and noncommitted (n = 109 exclusively dating) heterosexual pairs. Specifically, in this study the quality of same- and opposite-sex relationships was examined at multiple levels of analysis via self-reports and partner reports, laboratory observations, and measures of physiological reactivity during dyadic interactions. Additionally, individuals in same-sex, engaged, and marital relationships were compared with one another on adult attachment security as assessed through the coherence of participants' narratives about their childhood experiences. Results indicated that individuals in committed same-sex relationships were generally not distinguishable from their committed heterosexual counterparts, with one exception-lesbians were especially effective at working together harmoniously in laboratory observations.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)91-101
Number of pages11
JournalDevelopmental psychology
Volume44
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2008
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • dating couples
  • engaged couples
  • married couples
  • observational study
  • same-sex couples

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Adult Romantic Relationships as Contexts of Human Development: A Multimethod Comparison of Same-Sex Couples With Opposite-Sex Dating, Engaged, and Married Dyads'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this