Polyamorous and ambiamorous adolescents: a first empirical look at mental health in an LGBTQ+ sample

Abstract

Polyamory has become increasingly visible in American culture, but the relationship arrangement or structure (i.e. one in which an individual has ongoing romantic, sexual, and/or emotional relationships with multiple partners) remains stigmatised. No known research has examined adolescents’ experiences with polyamory, though adolescents are in a stage of developing romantic and sexual relationship preferences. The current study uses a repeated-measures survey design to analyse the mental health of 323 LGBTQ+ adolescents (ages 12 to 17), including 54 polyamorous and ambiamorous (poly/ambi) adolescents, in the context of an affirming summer camp. Ambiamory refers to when a person’s preferred relationship arrangement varies depending on their situation. At baseline, poly/ambi adolescents had higher levels of depressive symptoms than their peers. All adolescents experienced reduced depressive symptoms and anxiety during camp. Thematic analysis of written responses to open-ended questions revealed that poly/ambi adolescents tended to not feel safe to disclose their identity in their home community due to stigmatization of polyamory, people’s lack of understanding of polyamory, and uncertainty or fear about people’s reactions. Poly/ambi adolescents who did feel safe in their home community tended to report supportive or indifferent community attitudes toward polyamory, knowing other polyamorous community members, and comfort with one’s identity.