Diversity In Relationships PDF

DIVERSIT Y C H A R L E N E F. B E L U , P H. D. FA L L 2 0 2 4  HOW DIVERSE ARE SAMPLES IN RELATIONSHIP RESEARCH? Psychology research samples usually from WEIRD societies: Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic Subfield of relationship science isn’t too differe...

DIVERSIT Y C H A R L E N E F. B E L U , P H. D. FA L L 2 0 2 4  HOW DIVERSE ARE SAMPLES IN RELATIONSHIP RESEARCH? Psychology research samples usually from WEIRD societies: Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic Subfield of relationship science isn’t too different – White, heterosexual women from the U.S. Arnett, 2008; Thalmayer et al., 2021 A THING OF THE PAST? WHAT ABOUT IN RELATIONSHIP SCIENCE? 771 studies of romantic relationships published 2014—2018 WHAT ABOUT IN RELATIONSHIP SCIENCE? ▪ 84% had samples of people 30 years old or younger ▪ 84% of samples had people with a college education or higher ▪ 64% of samples were middle class or wealthier ▪ 68% of samples were primarily White Williamson et al., 2022 What are the problems with this? WHAT ARE WE MISSING WHEN WE FAIL TO USE DIVERSE SAMPLES? Unclear how generalizable our findings are? Could easily miss variation in relationship experiences Unique theoretical and empirical angles might be overlooked FOCUS TODAY Focusing on sexual orientation, gender identity, sex, and relationship type –How do relationship phenomena differ across groups? How are they similar? –What questions are unique to these groups? GENDER & SEX BIOLOGICAL SEX GENDER - Biological - “Deeply felt, inherent sense femaleness/maleness of being a girl, a woman, or - Chromosomes female; a boy, a man, or - Fetal gonads male; a blend of male or female; or an alternative - Fetal hormone exposure gender” (APA, 2015) - Internal reproductive anatomy - External genitalia BINARY ASSUMPTIONS Sex Belief there are only two sexes 1-2% of individuals show differences of sexual development Extend to gender Belief there are only two genders 1-2% individuals are transgender and/or gender diverse REPRESENTATION OF GENDER DIVERSE PARTICIPANTS IN RELATIONSHIP SCIENCE RESEARCH 100 90 80 70 60 60 1.9% of studies reported 50 40 40 30 inclusion of any gender 20 10 0.02 diverse participants 0 SEXUAL ORIENTATION EXPERIENCES AND EXPRESSION OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION Sexual identity exists on a continuum, outside the labels of gay, straight, and bisexual. A sizable minority identify as “mostly heterosexual.”  ASEXUALITY Lack of desire or sexual attraction to either sex Have no control over the lack of desire Consider lack of sexual feelings to be a trait of who they are REPRESENTATION OF LGBTQ‐INCLUSIVE RESEARCH IN RELATIONSHIP SCIENCE RESEARCH Pollitt et al., 2023 LGBTQ+ PEOPLE’S R E L AT I O N S H I P S LGBTQ+ Not just same-sex couples LGBTQ+ = lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer + The experiences of all members of the LGBTQ+ community can help us to understand relationship dynamics RELATIONSHIP INITIATION Same-Sex Couples Mixed-Sex Couples Rosenfeld et al., 2012  RELATIONSHIP QUALITY N=5,052 0.84 0.82 0.8 0.78 0.76 0.74 0.72 0.7 0.68 Commitment Satisfaction Emotional Intimacy Joyner et al., 2019 Mixed-sex Same-sex Same-sex couples experiencing discrimination DISCRIMINATION & HARASSMENT Add considerable stress to a relationship People experience worse relationship quality when… They feel motivated to conceal their queer identity (including their relationships) Mohr & Fassinger, 2006; Pepping et al., 2019  People experience worse relationship quality when… They feel that their relationship is not supported by their social network People experience better relationship quality when… They feel positively about their queer identities Pepping et al., 2019 BISEXUAL PEOPLE’S RELATIONSHIP EXPERIENCES Challenges Bias from potential partners—gay and straight people tend to prefer to date gay and straight people rather than bisexual people Making one’s bisexual identity visible to others (when in a relationship) Armstrong & Reissing, 2014; Ess et al., 2022 BISEXUAL VISIBILITY IN RELATIONSHIPS How visible bisexual identity felt 7 6 5 No difference in single vs. partnered 4 3 2 1 Single Mixed-sex relationship Same-sex relationship EXPERIENCES FOR TRANS PEOPLE IN RELATIONSHIPS EXPERIENCES FOR TRANS PEOPLE IN RELATIONSHIPS Prejudice and exclusion in dating, especially from cisgender, heterosexual men and women Small daily gestures from romantic partners can help to affirm trans partners’ identities Blair & Hoskins, 2019; Pulice-Farrow et al., 2019 LGBTQ+ RELATIONSHIPS: TAKEAWAYS LGBTQ+ relationships are diverse—different relationships bring different assets & challenges Being LGBTQ+ can influence close relationships, and close relationship can influence how people feel about their LGBTQ+ identities Relationships = powerful source of connection & affirmation for LGBTQ+ people DIFFERENT T YPES OF REL ATIONSHIPS CONSENSUAL (ETHICAL) NON- MONOGAMY (CNM) Monogamy is the norm, but interest in CNM is increasing Relationships where partners explicitly agree they or their partners can have extradyadic romantic or sexual relationships with consent of everyone involved Three main types: swinging, open, and polyamorous UNIQUE BENEFITS Diversified need fulfillment Variety in activities (nonsexual) Personal growth/development Moors et al., 2017 HOW DO THESE RELATIONSHIPS COMPARE? People in CNM relationships were as satisfied or more satisfied in their relationships People in CNM relationships were as committed or more committed in their relationships People in CNM relationships were more satisfied with the nature of communication and openness in their relationships Triad and True