Facing polyamorous lives: translation and validation of the attitudes towards polyamory scale in a Portuguese sample

Abstract

Consensual Non-Monogamies (CNMs) have been receiving the attention of academics, however attitudes towards polyamory are still a new field of research. We aim at studying the reliability and validity of the Attitudes Towards Polyamory (ATP) scale in a Portuguese sample. The present analysis utilized cross-sectional data from 609 volunteers that completed the online survey. After randomly splitting the sample (1:1) for cross-validation purposes, Exploratory (EFA) and Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were conducted using Principal Axis Factoring (PAF) and Maximum Likelihood Estimation, respectively. Cronbach's alpha and item-total correlations were used to determine the internal consistency of the scale. The convergent and discriminant validities of the scale were assessed using a correlation matrix. Feasibility and acceptability were examined in terms of missing values, floor and ceiling effects. The ATP proved to be reliable (Cronbach's alpha > .80). In the current study the final structure of the scale, proved through CFA, included 6 items aggregated in a single factor. This final 6-item measure proved to have convergent validity with a measure of modern heterosexism, divergent validity with a measure on self-esteem and concurrent criterion validity with willingness to engage in consensual nonmonogamy. Implications for research in polyamory and consensual nonmonogamies are discussed.

Defining Polyamory: A Thematic Analysis of Lay People’s Definitions

“…The study received ethical and deontological approval by the Comissão de Ética e Deontologia da Investigação Científica da Escola de Psicologia e de Ciências da Vida da Universidade Lusófona de Humanidades e Tecnologias. The data analyzed on this study was gathered within the scope of a larger study, that has resulted in previous publication (Cardoso, Pascoal, & Rosa, 2018). This larger study gathered both qualitative and quantitative data.…”

“…These assertions are made despite evidence against them, as health and happiness levels reported by people in non-monogamous relationships are equal to or higher than those of people in monogamous relationships (Conley et al, 2012 , 2013 ; Fleckenstein & Cox, 2015 ). However, stigma prevents proper health care from being delivered to polyamorous persons that could arguably suffer from minority stress (Meyer, 2003 ), as research seems to indicate (Cardoso et al, 2020 ), and this minority stress may be amplified by the expectation of encountering prejudice and rejection by social groups, or health care professionals (McCrosky, 2015 ).…”

Desire, Familiarity, and Engagement in Polyamory: Results From a National Sample of Single Adults in the United States

“…In addition to understanding lifetime prevalence of polyamory in the present study, we probed whether people desire to engage in polyamory. Recent research using convenience samples has examined willingness or desire to engage in consensual non-monogamy (e.g., Moors et al, 2015 ; Cardoso et al, 2020 ). Moors et al (2015) found that among heterosexually identified people who had never engaged in consensual non-monogamy, men expressed greater willingness than women to engage in all three popular consensual non-monogamy sub-types.…”

“…Although interest in sexual practices is not a direct assessment of willingness, these estimates help provide a proxy to interest in some types of consensual non-monogamy (e.g., swinging). Indeed, recent research has documented that positive attitudes toward consensually non-monogamous relationships predict greater willingness to engage in these relationships ( Cardoso et al, 2020 ).…”

Translation, adaptation, and validation of the Calidad de la relación con su persona cercana Scale

“…Geralmente, pesquisadores apresentam resultados juntamente com cálculo de alfa, caso um dos itens seja removido, avaliando se o valor total do coeficiente aumenta ou diminui (16) com a remoção daquele item. Deste modo, se o alpha de Cronbach total aumenta significativamente (>0,1), quando o item é removido, há indício de que este não seja consistente com os demais, prejudicando a consistência interna da escala (17) . Destaca-se que a baixa correlação item-total (<0,3) (17) , observada nos itens 2,6,10,12,14,17,18,20,28 e 30, não resultou em elevação do alpha de Cronbach geral, se fossem removidos.…”