The Role of Relationship Attributions in Relationship Satisfaction Among Cohabiting Gay Men

Relationship attributions, how a spouse explains his or her partner's behavior, were examined using a sample of cohabiting gay males (N = 175) in relationships of at least 6 months. The psychometric properties of the most commonly used attribution measure were investigated with this new population and found to be adequate through confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses. Analyses from heterosexual married couples regarding the association between relationship satisfaction, attributions, and negative affectivity were replicated in this sample using structural equation modeling. The findings from the gay male sample differed from what has been found in previous research with heterosexual couples; neither relationship attributions of causality or responsibility were strongly linked to relationship satisfaction. Counseling implications and directions for future research are discussed.