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

• Published in: The Journal of sex research Vol. 57; no. 8; pp. 1026 - 1035
• Main Authors: Guzmán-González, Mónica, Barrientos, Jaime, Gómez, Fabiola, Meyer, Ilan H., Bahamondes, Joaquín, Cárdenas, Manuel
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Taylor & Francis 12.10.2020; Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality
• Subjects: Attachment theory; Avoidance behavior; Couples; Gays & lesbians; Homosexuality; Intimacy; Lesbianism; Personal relationships; Psychology; Snowball sampling; Chile
• ISSN: 0022-4499; 1559-8519
• DOI: 10.1080/00224499.2019.1671949

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.