There are a number of childhood factors reported to be associated with gay male sexual
orientation including childhood gender non-conformity and socialization factors such as paternal
and peer rejection. Attachment theory suggests that poor quality childhood relationships may be
related to anxiety and avoidance attachment dimensions in adulthood. The purpose of this study
was to explore the association between these childhood factors and anxiety and avoidance in gay
men's close relationships. A community sample of 192 self-identified gay men completed
questionnaires and a 2 hour attachment interview. No major findings related to the avoidance
dimension were significant. In terms of attachment anxiety, results were partially consistent with
attachment theory: paternal and peer, but not maternal, rejection independently predicted anxiety.
Quality of peer relationships largely mediated the association between parental rejection and
anxiety. In addition, quality of peer relationships mediated the association between gender nonconformity
and anxiety. Good quality relationships in one domain did not compensate for poor
quality relationships in another domain. The importance of fathers and peers to gay men's
current relationship functioning is discussed.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:BVAU.2429/9996 |
| Date | 11 1900 |
| Creators | Landolt, Monica A. |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Relation | UBC Retrospective Theses Digitization Project [http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/retro_theses/] |
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