Power strategies in intimate relationships.

Abstract

A study was conducted to generate (a) a model of power strategies used in intimate relationships and (b) information regarding the associations between gender, sexual orientation, egalitarianism, and power strategy use. Participants in this study were 200 university students (100 homosexuals and 100 hetero-sexuals) evenly divided by gender. A two-dimensional model was devised based on the strategies written in open-ended essays. These two dimensions concerned the extent to which the strategies were (a) direct (ranging from direct to in-direct) and (b) interactive (ranging from bilateral to unilateral). Gender dif-ferences were found only among heterosexuals, with men more likely than women to report using bilateral and direct strategies. The effects of gender among heterosexuals paralleled findings concerning the balance of power in the relationship. That is, people who preferred and perceived themselves as having more power than their partner, such as heterosexual men, were also more likely to use bilateral and direct strategies. No differences in power strategy use were found between homosexuals and heterosexuals. These and other results are in-