Caught in a Bad Romance: Endorsement of Traditional Romantic Ideology, Internalized Heterosexism, and Intimate Partner Violence Experiences Among Sexual Minority Individuals

摘要

Popular media depictions of romance often portray love as occurring in the context of jealousy and control. When heterosexual individuals internalize such romantic ideals, they are more likely to report experiences of interpersonal violence. This phenomenon has yet to be explored among sexual minority individuals. In this study, we examined whether the relations between endorsement of romantic ideology and experiences of both physical and psychological intimate partner violence (IPV) were higher among sexual minority individuals with internalized heterosexism. Using a cross-sectional online design, we recruited 449 sexual-minority-identified individuals aged 18-60 through Amazon Mechanical Turk and measured their endorsement of traditional romantic beliefs, the extent to which they engaged in mate-retention behaviors, their shame associated with their sexual minority identity, as well as their reported experiences of IPV within their current or most recent romantic relationship. Supporting our predictions, greater internalized heterosexism created a stronger correlation between endorsement of traditional romantic beliefs and experiences of intimate partner violence. These findings suggest the potential need for interventions about unrealistic romantic messages as well as heterosexism in addressing IPV among sexual minority individuals.