Satisfaction in male homosexual couples.

Little information exists regarding factors in the satisfaction and stability of male homosexual relationships. On the basis of interviews with 14 male couples an open-ended questionnaire was developed concerning gay couples' relationships. This questionnaire and a modified version of the Marital Relationship Inventory, called here the Couples Relationship Inventory (CRI), were administered to 28 couples who described themselves as in a primary, relatively long-term relationship. Couples' descriptions of the successfulness of their relationships in conventional, heterosexual-oriented terms on the CRI were similar to their descriptions on the more homosexual-oriented, open-ended questionnaire. The study is seen as providing a point of departure for future research on gay relationships and the behavior transactions that may differentiate satisfying from unsatisfying relationships.