Sex differences in the events that elicit jealousy among homosexuals

When individuals are asked which event would upset them more - a partner's emotional infidelity or a partner's sexual infidelity- among heterosexuals more men than women select a partner's sexual infidelity as the most upsetting event, whereas more more women than men select a partner's emotional infidelity as the most upsetting event. Because homosexuals' mating psychology is unlike that of heterosexuals, the present study examinend which of these two events is more upsetting in a sample of 237 Dutch homosexuals. In support of our hypothesis it was found that, whereas gay men more often than lesbian women chose a mate's emotional infidelity as the most upsetting event, lesbians more often than gay men chose a mate's sexual infidelity as the most upsetting event. In addition, analyses showed that the effect of participant sex on infidelity choice was mediated by the beliefs with regard to the co-occurance of sexual and emotional infidelity. Apparantly, with choosing the most upsetting type of infidelity of the partner, homosexuals resemble heterosexuals of the opposite sex. Several explanations are discussed for this finding.