The Exploration of Identity, Relationships, and Health in Adult Men

Abstract

The current study is an investigation of health, sexuality, and relationship attachment in adult men. Drawing on the sexual identity literature and the body of work on men who have sex with men (MSM), predictions were made about level of congruence between self-defined sexual orientation and self-reported sexual thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. One thousand male graduate students from a large, Mid-Atlantic university were emailed a web survey containing questionnaires asking about their experiences in close relationships, aspects of their sexuality, and their levels of depression. The return rate was only 10%, and the final sample consisted of 99 male graduate students. The hypotheses predicting that congruence would predict better health outcomes were carried out using one-way ANOVAS, and were not supported. Potential reasons for this are given, along with suggestions for clinical practice with adult men and areas for future research.