Resumen

CARDOSO, Bruno Luiz Avelino; PEIXOTO, Evandro Morais; MURTA, Sheila Giardini  y  PRETTE, Zilda Aparecida Pereira Del. Couples’ social skills in couples of different sexual orientations. Psicol. teor. prat. [online]. 2025, vol.27, n.1, ePTPCP15826.  Epub 06-Feb-2026. ISSN 1516-3687.  https://doi.org/10.5935/1980-6906/eptpcp15826.en.

Sexual orientation and romantic relationships are topics of interest presently. However, there are few studies that focus on the Couples’ Social Skills (CSS) of homosexual couples. In Latin America, the only instrument assessing these skills is based on studies that include heterosexual couples only. Thus, the objectives of this study are: (a) estimating new psychometric evidence for the Couples’ Social Skills Inventory (CSSI) in heterosexual couples and homosexual couples; (b) assessing the invariance of the measurement model generated by the CSSI, as a function of gender and sexual orientation; and (c) characterizing and identifying specificities of the couples’ social skills repertoire in relation to gender and sexual orientation. A total of 596 individuals, 210 in homosexual relationships and 386 in heterosexual relationships (mean age of 26 and 39 respectively) responded to the CSSI-Villa&Del-Prette. Exploratory structural equation modeling with the Weighted Least Square Means and Variance Adjusted estimation method and polychoric correlation matrices were used. Descriptive and inferential analyses were also performed (Student’s t-test and MANOVA). The invariance of the CSSI for gender and sexual orientation was confirmed, while homosexual couples had higher means for the total repertoire of marital social skills and for the Assertive Reciprocity, Assertive Self-Affirmation, and Emotional Responsiveness subclasses. For these same variables, women had higher means than men. These data encourage future studies and programs, taking the variables gender and sexual orientation into account, as well as specific sociocultural variables involving these types of relationships.

Palabras llave : social skills; couple; gender diversity; sexual and gender minorities; interpersonal relations.

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