Romantic self-efficacy in same-sex couples

Access restricted to the OSU CommunityThe current body of literature does not provide a link between romantic selfefficacy and romantic satisfaction in same-sex couples due to the newness of the concept of romantic self-efficacy. This study focused on further outlining areas important to romantic satisfaction in which romantic self-efficacy beliefs play a role for same-sex couples. Participants were asked questions regarding the ways they navigated areas previously found to be important in same-sex couples' romantic satisfaction including: utilizing social support, navigating relationship structure, disclosing sexual orientation, and coping with discrimination (Peplau & Fingerhut 2007). The study confirmed and expanded upon several of these topics. The previously researched topic of same-sex couples' utilization of social support was expanded upon with the conceptual finding of queer social norming, meaning the use of other queer people's experiences as a mirror for validation of their relational behaviors. The topic of coping with discrimination yielded the theme of commonality, specifically sharing common goals and views helped the couple cope with discrimination and supported the continuation of the relationship through these obstacles. The previously studied topic of navigating relationship structure was confirmed and expanded upon with the thematic findings of lack of implied roles, equal responsibility, and empathetic compromise. Participants worked together to create a relationship structure that they were comfortable with that tended to emphasize equity in household responsibility as well as negotiation between partners until a mutually agreed upon compromise was determined. While examining the previously researched topics, the theme of communication was found to be important in all aspects of relationship satisfaction. Contrary to previous research, the topic of sexual orientation disclosure was not relevant to participants, most likely due to their age and geographic location. Furthermore, the new theme of values-driven intentionality emerged in the findings, meaning that participants used self-reflection to examine important values and used these values to direct behavior towards pro-relational commitment. These thematic findings illuminate potential areas to focus romantic self-efficacy research in the future as well as offer culturally sensitive indications for clinicians in practice with same-sex couples