Shanghai survey links gay men's higher attachment insecurity to how stable they rate their relationships
Researchers surveying 603 Shanghai men found lower perceived relationship stability statistically explained gay men's higher attachment anxiety and avoidance. The authors link that gap to whether relationships are socially accepted, a factor outside the measures the study reports.
The Scientist · Science desk
Evidence map. Supported: gay men reported higher attachment anxiety and avoidance; relationship histories differed little; lower perceived stability statistically accounted for the differences. Insufficient: that stability may depend on social acceptance.
- Supported Gay men reported higher attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance than heterosexual men, and these differences remained after accounting for economic and occupational status., claim 7
- Supported The researchers found little difference between gay and heterosexual men in relationship histories: similar numbers of romantic relationships and similar durations for their shortest relationships., claim 8
- Supported Gay men reported lower perceived stability than heterosexual men, and perceived relationship stability statistically accounted for the differences in attachment anxiety and avoidance between the groups., claim 9
- Insufficient evidence For people with diverse sexual identities, the sense of stability may also depend on whether their relationships feel accepted and supported by their families, communities and wider social environment., claim 15
| Claim | State | Claim number |
|---|---|---|
| Gay men reported higher attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance than heterosexual men, and these differences remained after accounting for economic and occupational status. | Supported | 7 |
| The researchers found little difference between gay and heterosexual men in relationship histories: similar numbers of romantic relationships and similar durations for their shortest relationships. | Supported | 8 |
| Gay men reported lower perceived stability than heterosexual men, and perceived relationship stability statistically accounted for the differences in attachment anxiety and avoidance between the groups. | Supported | 9 |
| For people with diverse sexual identities, the sense of stability may also depend on whether their relationships feel accepted and supported by their families, communities and wider social environment. | Insufficient evidence | 15 |
What happened
- Fan Yang of Waseda University and Zichen Zhai of Nagoya University published the study online in BMC Psychology on Sept. 16, 2026.
- The sample split almost evenly between 303 gay and 300 heterosexual men, all aged 20 to 29 and living in Shanghai.
- Gay men's higher attachment anxiety and avoidance held up after the researchers accounted for economic and occupational status.
- Relationship histories barely differed, with both groups reporting similar numbers of relationships and similar lengths for their shortest ones.
Why it matters
- constraint Attachment and stability were both self-reported, so the data cannot show whether doubts about a relationship's future breed insecurity or insecure men rate their relationships as shakier.
- decision Counselors who take up Yang's advice would add a couple's worries about acceptance and continuity to the usual work on communication, on the basis of a survey and before any test of whether addressing those worries changes attachment.
- constraint The 93 men who had never had a relationship could not rate stability, so the stability explanation applies only to men who have had a partner.
The authors' explanation rests on a single rating. Men who had been in at least one relationship were asked how stable they considered their relationships, on a scale running from "very unstable" to "very stable" [4]. Attachment came from a nine-item questionnaire covering anxiety and avoidance [5]. The paper's title states the conclusion: "Perceived relationship stability, rather than relationship history, matters" [12].
The account's phrase is that stability "statistically accounted for" the group differences [9]. That pattern would look the same whether low stability feeds insecurity or insecure men give their relationships lower stability ratings. The study defines attachment anxiety as worrying about being abandoned or being unsure about a partner's feelings, and avoidance as discomfort with emotional closeness or relying on a partner [6]. A man unsure of his partner's feelings has an obvious reason to call the relationship unstable. The stability item and the anxiety scale may partly pick up the same worry, and the men answered both themselves [3].
The stability analysis also runs on a smaller base than the full sample. Of the 603 men surveyed, 510 had been in at least one romantic relationship [2][4]. The other 93, about 15% of the sample, had no relationship to rate [13][14]. The phys.org account does not say how those 93 divided between gay and straight men, or how large any of the reported gaps were.
Social acceptance comes in at the interpretation stage. According to the phys.org account, for people with diverse sexual identities a sense of stability may depend on whether families, communities and the wider social environment accept and support the relationship [15]. The variables the study reports are attachment, perceived stability, relationship history, and economic and occupational status [3][7]. "The feeling that 'this relationship has a future' may be an important part of romantic security," Yang said [10].
In my view the comparison with relationship history is the strongest part of the design, because it removes the simplest alternative explanation within this sample [8]. Acceptance is the authors' candidate for why the stability ratings differ in the first place [11][15]. Yang draws a recommendation for services from it. "These findings may be relevant to relationship counseling, mental health support and services for sexual minority individuals. Support may need to consider not only communication between partners but also concerns about whether the relationship can be accepted, supported and maintained over time," Yang said [11].
What to watch
- A follow-up that measures family and societal acceptance directly and tests whether it predicts how stable gay men rate their relationships.
- Data that follow the same men over time, showing whether falling stability ratings come before rising attachment anxiety or after it.
- Replications with women, older adults or men outside Shanghai, to see whether the stability pattern holds beyond men in their twenties in one city.
Clarity's read
What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.
Reality
- Evidence42
- Adoption
- Insufficient
- Hype gap+15
- Incentives
- Insufficient
- Confidence45
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
Fan Yang of Waseda University and Zichen Zhai of Nagoya University investigated whether gay and heterosexual men differ in romantic attachment and whether perceived relationship stability helps explain the differences; the study was published online in BMC Psychology on Sept. 16, 2026.
- [2]
The researchers collected questionnaire data from 603 men ages 20-29 living in Shanghai, China: 303 gay men and 300 heterosexual men.
- [3]
Participants completed questionnaires measuring attachment anxiety and avoidance, perceived romantic relationship stability and their romantic relationship history.
- [4]
Among the 510 participants who had experienced at least one romantic relationship, perceived stability was assessed by asking how stable they considered their romantic relationships to be, with responses from "very unstable" to "very stable".
- [5]
Attachment anxiety and avoidance were assessed using a nine-item questionnaire designed to measure these two dimensions.
- [6]
Attachment anxiety can involve worrying about being abandoned or being unsure about a partner's feelings; avoidance can involve discomfort with emotional closeness or relying on a partner.
- [7]
Gay men reported higher attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance than heterosexual men, and these differences remained after accounting for economic and occupational status.
- [8]
The researchers found little difference between gay and heterosexual men in relationship histories: similar numbers of romantic relationships and similar durations for their shortest relationships.
- [9]
Gay men reported lower perceived stability than heterosexual men, and perceived relationship stability statistically accounted for the differences in attachment anxiety and avoidance between the groups.
- [10]
"The feeling that 'this relationship has a future' may be an important part of romantic security," Fan Yang said.
- [11]
"These findings may be relevant to relationship counseling, mental health support and services for sexual minority individuals. Support may need to consider not only communication between partners but also concerns about whether the relationship can be accepted, supported and maintained over time," Fan Yang said.
- [12]
The paper is titled "Are gay men more insecurely attached than heterosexual men in romantic relationships? Perceived relationship stability, rather than relationship history, matters".
- [13]
93 of the 603 men had not experienced a romantic relationship and so were not asked to rate relationship stability.
- [14]
The 93 men without a relationship history are about 15% of the 603-man sample.
- [15]
For people with diverse sexual identities, the sense of stability may also depend on whether their relationships feel accepted and supported by their families, communities and wider social environment.
Sources
1 independent publisher whose own reporting we read for this story.
- phys.orgConfidence in a relationship's future is linked to feelings of romantic security
1 article · October 9, 2026
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