A Kansas State University study finds the practical fallout of a split, such as moving and losing friends, is tied to sexual identity ambiguity.
MANHATTAN, Kansas (Sex News) – The end of a long romantic relationship can be a moment when some people start to question how they define their sexuality, and new research from Kansas State University suggests the practical upheaval of a breakup, more than the emotional turmoil, is what goes with that uncertainty. The study appears in The Journal of Sex Research and surveyed adults who had recently left a committed relationship.
What the study asked
The paper is titled “Understanding Sexual Orientation Ambiguity: Perceptions of Transitional Impacts in the Context of a Relationship Dissolution.” According to PsyPost’s summary, its authors are Grace A. O’Toole, Peyton Woods, Kristin M. Anders, Jared Durtschi and Anthony J. Ferraro. The journal article is available via its publisher link.
The team surveyed 493 adults in the United States, ages 18 to 76, all of whom had ended a committed romantic relationship within the previous two years. The study separated the breakup’s effects into two kinds. “Material” impacts covered things like moving home, losing a shared friend group or changes in finances. “Psychological” impacts covered shifts in thoughts, emotions and attitudes. They also reported how uncertain or ambiguous they felt about their own sexual orientation.
Practical upheaval stood out
The clearest result was that greater material impacts of a breakup went with greater sexual orientation ambiguity. Psychological impacts were not significant predictors. One reasonable reading is that when a relationship’s shared home, friends and routines fall away, the social scaffolding that supported a person’s existing identity label may loosen, giving room to reconsider it. The authors’ data do not prove that, and the report is careful to describe the finding as an association.
Who reported more ambiguity
Some groups reported more ambiguity than others:
- Bisexual participants reported more ambiguity than heterosexual participants.
- Genderqueer participants reported more ambiguity than cisgender men.
- Black participants reported more ambiguity than White participants.
- People who had lived with their former partners reported less ambiguity than those who had only been seriously dating.
The report does not explain the reasons for the group differences, and they should not be treated as settled. Questions about identity can be influenced by many things, including how much room a person’s community gives them to explore.
How it fits other research on sexuality and relationships
Sexuality researchers have long argued that sexual orientation involves several dimensions, among them attraction, behavior and identity, and that these can shift or fail to line up over a lifetime. A separate project from Lancaster University and the University of British Columbia, reported in a Lancaster University news release, looked at what it calls sexual inconsistency, where a person’s identity or attraction does not match the sex of their partner. That work, published in Sociological Science and led by Professors Yang Hu and Yue Qian, followed more than 3,500 U.S. adults between 2017 and 2022. It found, among other things, that about 41 percent of women in same-sex relationships reported some inconsistency, and that bisexual respondents reported lower relationship satisfaction and higher breakup rates than straight or gay and lesbian respondents.
The Kansas State study asks a different question, namely what happens to identity after a relationship ends, but both highlight that sexual identity is not always fixed and that relationships can shape how people describe themselves.
A cautious reading of the cohabitation finding
The result that people who had lived with a former partner reported less ambiguity than those who had only been seriously dating is a good example of how easily such data can be over-read. It could mean that living together builds a steadier sense of identity within the relationship. It could equally mean that people who already felt secure in their orientation were more willing to move in together. The survey asked about the aftermath of a breakup and cannot tell these stories apart, so the finding is best treated as a prompt for longer-term research.
Limitations and open questions
The authors and the report flag several caveats:
- The design was cross-sectional, so it shows correlation, not cause. Ambiguity could have contributed to the breakup rather than resulted from it.
- The sample was predominantly heterosexual, cisgender and White, which limits how far the findings apply to others.
- The measures of ambiguity were mostly tested on young adults and may need further validation with older people.
- The authors suggest future studies should follow participants over time and include more diverse groups.
It is also worth noting what the study does not claim. It does not say that breakups cause anyone to become bisexual or gay, and it does not suggest that uncertainty is a problem to be fixed. Many people experience questioning as a normal part of understanding themselves, and the research simply identifies a life event around which it may be more common.
What this means for readers
For anyone going through a split, the practical message is that big changes in daily life can prompt big questions, and that this is common and nothing to be ashamed of. Friends, LGBTQ+ community groups and counsellors trained in sexuality and gender issues can offer support without pushing anyone toward a label. Journalists, educators and clinicians can take from the work a reminder to leave room for change when they ask people about their identity.
PsyPost keeps a running feed of studies on this subject in its relationships and sexual health section, and comedy-minded readers can find a separate, jokier view of love lives at Bohiney Magazine.
SOURCE: https://bohiney.com/