An investigation of communication strategies to disengage from male homosexual romantic relationships between Thais and non-Thais

This study aims to obtain a better understanding of why Thai male homosexual couples enter romantic relationships with non-Thais, examine communicative strategies used to disengage from the relationships, explore the elements contributing to the choice of breakup tactics, describe how communication strategies were employed in the dissolution of the relationship, and investigate the effects of the disengagement strategies on the post-breakup relationship status. Interviews were used to extract the participants’ previous relationship experiences. Five male homosexual participants were selected by purposive sampling method and semi-structured interviews was conducted to obtain multilayered information. Analysis of the findings revealed that participants entered intimate relationships with non-Thai partners for several reasons, such as physical attraction, common interests, and compatibility. The findings presented the causes of disengagement, including dissatisfaction with the partner, cultural differences, a lack of communication, geographical distance, and a low level of relationship quality. The adaptation of Baxter’s (1985) disengagement tactics served to capture the communication styles of Thai disengagers during the relationship breakdown. The findings revealed that the degree of intimacy and the culture of disengagers influenced the selection of disengagement tactics. The results also indicated that the technological medium was the major communication channel for conveying the disengagement strategies. The results showed that the length of relationship and the usage of breakup strategies played a significant role in determining the post-breakup relationship status. Knowledge of these breakup tactics may enable individuals to select the most appropriate strategies during the relationship dissolution phase and serve as a beneficial guideline for their relationships.