Sex Roles, Love, and Conjugal Satisfaction in Heterosexual and Homosexual Individuals

Abstract The experience of same-sex love is still perceived from a stigmatizing social perspective. In an attempt to contribute to the discussion of this issue, this study generated evidence of validity and reliability for the Bem Sex Role Inventory-Reduced by analyzing the scores of 331 heterosexual and homosexual individuals, of both sexes, who cohabited with their partners for at least one year in the city of Rio de Janeiro, state of Rio de Janeiro. A confirmatory analysis of the Triangular Scale of Love-Reduced was also performed, which revealed good model fit and invariance of measurement for homosexuals and heterosexuals. In addition, the relationships between Sexual Orientation, Sex Roles, Love and Conjugal Satisfaction were verified. Intimacy and Commitment were the best predictors of Conjugal Satisfaction for both groups. Some evidence was found questioning the social stereotypes associated to same-sex relationships.