Greece: Gay people were not less likely than people of other sexual orientations to be in a relationship; gay men but not women experienced longer spells of singlehood than people of other sexual orientations

The effect of sexual orientation on singlehood: Evidence from the Greek cultural context. Menelaos Apostolou. Personality and Individual Differences, Volume 183, December 2021, 111150. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2021.111150

Highlights

• Finds that, homosexual people were not less likely than people of other sexual orientations to be in a relationship.

• Finds that, homosexual people were considerably less likely to be married than people of other sexual orientations.

• Finds that, homosexual men but not women experienced longer spells of singlehood than people of other sexual orientations.

Abstract: The social stigma attached to same-sex attraction, along with the limited availability of same-sex outlets, are likely to cause difficulties to homosexual people in attracting intimate partners. Based on this reasoning, the current study aimed to test the hypothesis that homosexual people would be more likely to be involuntarily single, and would experience longer spells of singlehood than people of other sexual orientations. Evidence from a sample of 10,939 Greek-speaking participants, indicated that homosexual people were not less likely than people of other sexual orientations to be in a relationship than involuntarily single. However, homosexual people were considerably less likely to be married than people of other sexual orientations, with the effect being more pronounce for men than for women. In addition, male homosexuals experienced longer spells of singlehood than men of other sexual orientations, but no such effect was found for women.

Keywords: SinglehoodInvoluntary singlehoodSexual orientationHomosexuality