Expectations and beliefs: How single young gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men envision romantic relationships

Abstract

We developed measures of relational beliefs and expectations among single young gay and bisexual men (YGBM). Data come from an online cross-sectional study YGBM, which ran from July 2012 until January 2013.Romantic relationships help fulfill the innate human desire for connection and to feel loved (Furman & Wehner, 2003). These relationships are defined by physical and emotional intimacy, which are constructs of romantic love (Collins et al., 2009). While romantic relationships develop naturally and change through the life course, the cognitive processes of love and relationships that inform relationship schemas begin at a young age (Collibee & Furman, 2016;Nosko et al., 2011). Adolescence is a critical time for cognitive growth and development of romantic relationships and these relationships influence healthy social and emotional development (Steinberg & Morris, 2001). Romantic relationships may also provide emotional support and companionship and help to buffer stress (Wienke & Hill, 2009). The latter finding is especially relevant for young gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (YGBM) who experience unique internal and external sexuality-related stressors compared to their heterosexual peers (Bauermeister et al., 2010;Meyer, 2003).Relational cognitions refer to mental schemas that individuals create to model how relationships work, including the roles people should play, expectations about what will happen, and how people should behave within relationships. These mental schemas include thoughts, feelings and behaviors that affect the quality of relationships and well-being (Holt et al., 2016;Sprecher & Metts, 1989;Stackert & Bursik, 2003). Some authors suggest that while most individuals are unaware of their relational cognitions, by understanding their own cognitions individuals can better monitor and self-regulate their behavior and, in turn, improve mental well-being (Sullivan & Schwebel, 1995). Health promoting cognitions are related to personal growth and adjustment in relationships,

Relationship identities among lesbian, gay, and bisexual adults: An exploratory study.

“…Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals experience minority stress (Meyer, 2003; Meyer & Frost, 2013), including in the context of their relationships (Rostosky & Riggle, 2017a); LGB couples face societal stigma and discrimination, which can affect couple dynamics and well-being (LeBlanc & Frost, 2020). Yet, although LGB relationship identities have been studied (Rostosky & Riggle, 2017b; Sang et al, 2021), how LGB relationship identities are evaluated in juxtaposition to other salient personal and social identities remains unknown. Further, given the rapid pace of social change with respect to LGB lives, relationship identities and their expression in the context of relationship experiences, may be more or less important for recent generations of LGB individuals who have experienced more societal acceptance and visibility (Frost et al, 2015; Hammack & Cohler, 2011), including greater opportunities for legal recognition of same-sex relationships.…”

A Latent Profile Analysis of Online Dating Patterns Among Single Young Men Who Have Sex with Men

“…Alongside the frequency and the time spent on online venues for finding partners [7][8][9], researchers have acknowledged that YMSM may navigate multiple GSN applications concurrently [10], hold competing for partner-seeking motivations (i.e., dating patterns shift from finding a date to a hookup) [11][12][13], and pursue different experiences with potential partners online (i.e., MSM in a relationship use GSN to find a hook up) [14]. Therefore, various factors, including how frequently and how much time is spent within partner-seeking sites and what drives users' online partner-seeking behaviors, need to be examined concurrently in order to advance our understanding of the association between online dating platforms and YMSM's partner-seeking behaviors.…”