| Summary: | 碩士 === 中國文化大學 === 心理輔導學系 === 106 === This study explores the experience of gay couples in “partnered nonmonogamy” to understand the development process, conflict experience, and how it influences intimacy among gay couples. This research is a qualitative research of narrative inquiry, and analysis of couple data. By purposive sampling and snowball sampling, this study invites five gay couples who are all in partnered nonmonogamy. Five couples’ age ranges from 20 to 30 years old and they have dated for 2 to 4 years. The researcher uses semi-structured in-depth interviews while conducting couple interviews. The analysis method is the "holistic-content" narrative analysis method, supplemented by the "holistic-form" narrative analysis method. The results are as follows.
1.The development process of gay couples in partnered nonmonogamy: gay couples have an opportunity to enter into partnered open relationships and negotiate. When couples enter into partnered open relationships, they may experience conflicts, even return to closed relationships, then enter again, and may enter polyamory, which shows the diversity of development process.
2.Diversity of experiences in partnered nonmonogamy among gay couples: entering partnered nonmonogamy opportunities, open relationship rules and forms of communication, swing between open and closed relationships to find the possibility of stability, and possibilities of entering polyamory present the diversity of experiences in partnered nonmonogamy.
3.Challenges of gay couples in partnered nonmonogamy: including open relationship rules which are difficult to reach consensus, violation of open relationship rules, and couples whose jealousy and compersion are not on the same page.
4.Benefits of gay couples operating a partnered nonmonogamy: including increased sexual pleasure and freshness, expanding topics that can be discussed in the relationship, temporary transfer of relationship conflicts through sex outside of relationships, and through the brief passion with others to remind the enthusiasm of partnered relationships.
5.Power issues of gay couples in partnered nonmonogamy: if one partner has an affair but does not resolve it, it may present an unequal power and affect the open relationship. If the partner's initiative "empowers" the passive, it will make a more equal open relationship.
6.Gender issues of gay couples in partnered nonmonogamy: the same sex may make gay couples escape intimacy when they operate open relationships, but there are also opportunities to create more equal relationships because of the same sex.
7.The future imagination of gay couples in partnered nonmonogamy: Five gay couples have different visions of the future, including just going with the flow, creating more fun ways of sex, entering marriages, entering polyamory, and choosing to end the relationship.
The study shows that gay couples practice the diversity of experiences in partnered nonmonogamy. Based on the result, this study provides gay couples in partnered nonmonogamy, counseling psychologists and future reseaches with its suggestions and restrictions.
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