PERCEIVED FAMILY ACCEPTANCE, RELATIONSHIP SATISFACTION AND SELF ACCEPTANCE IN HOMOSEXUAL AND HETEROSEXUAL COUPLES

Abstract

The study aimed to examine the way perceived family acceptance relates to relationship satisfaction and self-acceptance among young adults in romantic relationships, and the differences between homosexual and heterosexual relationships. A sample consisting of 101 young adults (aged 18 to 26 years) in romantic relationships (41 in same sex relationships and 60 in opposite sex relationships) was gathered using purposive sampling. Participants reported their responses to items on three standardized tools: The Perceived Acceptance Scale, The Relationship Assessment Scale and the Unconditional Self-Acceptance Questionnaire. The data gathered from these psychometric tools was statistically analyzed using Pearson’s correlation and independent samples T-test on SPSS. Results of the study showed a moderate positive correlation (r=.296) between perceived family acceptance and relationship satisfaction, and a strong positive correlation (r=.688) between perceived family acceptance and self-acceptance. Findings also suggests that on average, heterosexual couples are likely to have higher perceived family acceptance (t=-2.977) and higher self-acceptance (t=-2.881) than homosexual couples. The implications of this study, its limitations, and recommendations for future research are also discussed.