Equality Discrepancy Between Women in Same-Sex Relationships: The Mediating Role of Attachment in Relationship Satisfaction

Anxiety, Attachment Styles and Life Satisfaction in the Polish LGBTQ+ Community

Poland is one of the most discriminatory places in Europe. The political situation, legal policies, and society's attitude towards people from the LGBTQ+ community in Poland clearly indicate the need to study the mental health and well-being of this group of individuals. Based on Meyer's minority stress theory, Bowlby's attachment theory, the Ainsworth attachment framework, Diener's subjective well-being model, and provided empirical evidence, this study examined the significance of attachment styles and anxiety as predictors of life satisfaction among the Polish LGBTQ+ community. It also explored the differences between LGBTQ+ and heterosexual individuals in the levels of tested variables. A total of 414 participants took part in this study, of whom most study participants were young adults (M = 24.50; SD = 6.94). Of those, 130 participants identified themselves as heterosexual, while 284 declared themselves members of the LGBTQ+ community. The Satisfaction with Life Scale, Plopa's Attachment Styles Questionnaire, and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory were used. Data demonstrate that anxiety and attachment styles were significant predictors of life satisfaction in the LGBTQ+ community. Moreover, LGBTQ+ individuals had higher non-secure attachment styles and anxiety scores, and lower life satisfaction scores in comparison to heterosexual individuals. The presented study is the first Polish study to test such relationships in the Polish LGBTQ+ community. It draws attention to lower life satisfaction among study participants representing the LGBTQ+ community in comparison to cisgender heterosexual individuals. This indicates that researchers, clinical specialists and practitioners should try to improve the levels of subjective well-being in Polish LGBTQ+ individuals, for example, through psychoeducational and supportive programs. In addition, the presented results highlight the possible important role of attachment styles in the functioning of the presented group.

Fairer Sex: The Role of Relationship Equity in Female Sexual Desire

Previous investigations into Female Sexual Desire (FSD) have been focused on women's biological, cognitive, and emotional processes, despite evidence that FSD is also responsive to relational contexts. Past research consistently demonstrates a general association between relationship satisfaction and FSD. There remains, however, a need to expound this connection. In response, this study explored the role of relationship equity in relationship satisfaction and FSD. For this cross-sectional study, 299 Australian women aged 18 to 39 years responded to an online questionnaire measuring relationship factors and dimensions of sexual desire. Two mediation models were tested to examine how relationship equity was associated with solitary and dyadic sexual desire, via a connection with relationship satisfaction. As expected, equality in relationships predicted relationship satisfaction, which, subsequently, was related to higher levels of dyadic sexual desire. No significant mediation was found for solitary desire, indicating that relationship factors may not play a critical role in this domain. This result also demonstrates a distinct divergence between the two domains of desire that requires further examination. These results solidify the notion of FSD as a multifaceted construct and present meaningful implications for theory, research, and clinical practice.

Self-Efficacy, Self-Love, and Fear of Compassion Mediate the Effect of Attachment Styles on Life Satisfaction: A Serial Mediation Analysis

This study examined the effect of attachment styles on the life satisfaction of adults and the serial mediating effect of self-efficacy, self-love, and fear of compassion in this effect for the first time in the literature to the best of our knowledge. The study group consisted of a total of 639 adults. As a result of the study, it is seen that secure attachment affects life satisfaction positively. This process is mediated by the variables of high self-efficacy, high self-love, and low fear of compassion. However, avoidant attachment seems to negatively affect life satisfaction. This process is mediated by low self-efficacy, low self-love, and high fear of compassion variables. Apart from these results, it was observed that anxious-ambivalent attachment negatively affected life satisfaction, but this relationship was not mediated by self-efficacy, self-love, and fear of compassion. This result may be due to the fact that people with anxious-ambivalent attachment style perceive others positively despite seeing themselves as worthless and inadequate. These people may not want to show compassion for themselves because they have low self-worth, but they may show compassion for others because they find them valuable.

Romantic Attachment and Relationship Satisfaction in Gay Men and Lesbians in Chile

Attachment theory has proven to be a solid framework for understanding couple bonds, but research focused on same-sex relationships among gay men and lesbian women from Latin America remains limited. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between romantic attachment and relationship satisfaction in a sample of Chilean gay men and lesbian women. A snowball sampling was used. The final sample consisted of 259 individuals involved in a same-sex couple relationship, ranging from 18 to 66 years of age (M = 27.2, SD = 6.8) for gay men and 18 to 57 years of age (M = 28.6, SD = 8.1) for lesbian women. Our hypotheses were partially supported, as there was a negative association between attachment avoidance and relationship satisfaction, but not between attachment anxiety and relationship satisfaction. We did not find a gender moderating effect. These findings may contribute to the understanding of lesbian and gay people in a same-sex couples relationship from an attachment theory perspective.

Measuring adult romantic attachment: psychometric properties of the brief Spanish version of the experiences in close relationships

The Experiences in Close Relationships (Brennan et al, Attachment theory and close relationships, 1998) questionnaire is one of the most widely used measures of adult romantic attachment. Despite the advantages of the ECR, the length of this measure may discourage its use in clinical and research contexts. Consequently, the goal of this study was to develop a brief Spanish version of the ECR questionnaire and to examine its psychometric properties when administered to six different Spanish-speaking samples from Chile. Confirmatory factor analyses replicated the two-dimensional structure of the ECR and its invariance across gender. Results also supported the reliability and concurrent validity of our brief Spanish version of the ECR (i.e., Spanish ECR-12), by its association with measures of emotion regulation, dyadic empathy, psychological distress and well-being, and relationship satisfaction. The Spanish ECR-12 can be used by researchers and clinical professionals as an abridged measure of adult attachment.

Identity Transformation During the Transition to Parenthood Among Same-Sex Couples: An Ecological, Stress-Strategy-Adaptation Perspective

This article reviews the current research on the potential stressors associated with identity transformation experienced by same-sex couples during the transition to parenthood and the coping strategies they employ. By integrating disparate findings into an ecological, stress-strategy-adaptation framework, we demonstrate that the identity transformation experiences among same-sex couples during the transition to parenthood (a) involve various adaptive processes of navigating different stressors via their human agency within multiple nested contexts; (b) are products of the intersections of individual characteristics, relational dynamics, LGBT community culture, and heterosexual sociostructural norms; and (c) are complicated by social contextual factors such as social class, race/ethnicity, family structure, and the sociocultural environment associated with geographic location. Last, several avenues for future inquiry are suggested.

“What do you mean when you say that you are sexually satisfied?” A mixed methods study

Not enough is understood about the role of gender norms and sexual stigma in shaping individuals’ definitions of sexual satisfaction. The current study aimed to investigate the heterogeneity of definitions of sexual satisfaction in a sample of young adults, ages 18–28 (M = 22.6; SD = 4.78). Forty US participants (50% females; 45% LGBTQ; 53% white) sorted 63 statements about sexual satisfaction using a Q methodology design ( Watts and Stenner, 2005 ), followed by semi-structured interviews. This mixed methods procedure enabled both a systematic and in-depth examination of the dimensions participants prioritized when determining their sexual satisfaction. Analysis of participants’ Q sorts indicated four distinct perspectives on sexual satisfaction: emotional and masculine; relational and feminine; partner focused; and orgasm focused. These four factors were further explored using participants’ interview data. Findings indicated that individuals interpreted sexual satisfaction using several key dimensions not regularly included in survey research. Existing survey items do not regularly attend to the gendered and heteronormative components of sexual satisfaction appraisals and as a result, important interpretive patterns may be overlooked.

Relationship duration moderates associations between attachment and relationship quality: meta-analytic support for the temporal adult romantic attachment model

Although research has examined associations between attachment dimensions and relationship outcomes, theory has ignored how these associations change over time in adult romantic relationships. We proposed the Temporal Adult Romantic Attachment (TARA) model, which predicts that the negative associations between anxious and avoidant attachment on one hand and relationship satisfaction and commitment on the other will be more negative as relationship durations increase. Meta-analyses largely confirmed that negative associations between both insecure attachment dimensions and both relationship outcomes were more negative among longer relationship durations in cross-sectional samples. We also explored gender differences in these associations. The present review not only integrates the literature on adult attachment and romantic relationship satisfaction/commitment but also highlights the importance of relationship duration as a key moderator of the associations among these variables. We discuss the broad implications of these effects and our meta-analytic findings for the TARA model, attachment theory, and romantic relationships.

Exploring the nature of same-sex relationships

This study explored the relationship structure and experiences of 145 people in the United States, aged 50 and above, in long-term, same-sex relationships. A survey assessed relationship satisfaction and roles, caregiving, shared assets, and relationship protection and support. The ENRICH couple scales revealed high scores in communication, conflict resolution, and couple satisfaction. Most participants had taken steps to protect shared assets and assign legal authority to their partners. Participants expressed differing views regarding marriage. This study reveals distinctions based on gender and age that will inform practice with this population.