No licence for love versus same-sex relationships – partner relations and interpersonal commitment

Abstract

Like heterosexual ones, homosexual partners strive to fulfil their needs for belonging and love. They also build their relationships in countries where less favourable public opinion exists towards same-sex relationships, due in part to the lack of equivalent legislation between heterosexual and non-heterosexual persons and couples. As opponents of such relationships claim them to be less stable and of lower quality, the current study examines whether the sexual orientation of partners may determine the quality of their relationship and their commitment to it. participants and procedureThe study was conducted in a group of 530 cohabiting persons, aged 18-44 (230 persons with a homosexual orientation and 300 heterosexual) living in Poland. The participants were tested with three tools: a sociodemographic survey, the Polish version of the Partner Relations Ques-tionnaire by Halhweg, adapted by Janicka, and the Interpersonal Commitment Inventory (KZI) by Janicka and Szymczak: the Polish adaptation of the Commitment Inventory by Stanley and Markman. resultsThe findings indicate that sexual orientation of women and men may influence their tendencies to change partners and their interpersonal commitment, interpreted as their dedication and obligation to stay in the relationship. conclusions Some detailed analyses suggest that cohabitations between gay women portend better than those of gay men.

Preliminary assessment of the psychometric properties of the Polish version of the Questionnaire to Assess Affective and Cognitive Empathy (QAACE) in Children

“…The sex of the participants proved to be a significant variable in differentiating the levels of empathy. Our results correspond with previous findings suggesting that girls show higher levels of empathy than boys (Feshbach, 1975;Janicka & Niebrzydowski, 1994). In our study differences were revealed in general empathy and in affective empathy.…”