Value Orientations in Heterosexual Relationships

It is often suggested that men and women have divergent orientations toward love relationships. A questionnaire study of 130 university students demonstrated that their values about romantic relationships comprise two distinct, orthogonal dimensions reflecting concerns with intimacy and with independence. However, results challenge the stereotype that whereas women are more concerned with close-knit attachments, men are more eager to maintain personal autonomy. In actuality, no sex differences were found in attachment values, and women gave significantly more importance than did men to equal sharing and maintaining their personal autonomy. Also examined were individual and dyadic correlates of these value dimensions. Results suggest that dimensions of attachment and egalitarian autonomy provide a useful way to conceptualize individual differences in orientations toward love relationships.