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Caught in a "Bad Romance"? Reconsidering the Negative Association Between Sociosexuality and Relationship Functioning
David Rodrigues1,2, Diniz Lopes1, C Veronica Smith3
1a Department of Social and Organizational Psychology , Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL), CIS-IUL.
Journal of Sex Research
|December 3, 2016
Summary
Sociosexuality, or openness to casual sex, impacts relationship quality. Unrestricted sociosexuality is linked to infidelity, especially in less committed monogamous relationships, but not in consensual nonmonogamous ones.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Relationship Science
- Human Sexuality
Background:
- Sociosexuality describes individual differences in attitudes and behaviors regarding casual sex.
- Unrestricted sociosexuality is often linked to increased infidelity and lower relationship quality.
- Previous research has not fully explored how relationship characteristics moderate these associations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether relationship commitment and agreement types (monogamy vs. nonmonogamy) moderate the link between unrestricted sociosexuality and infidelity.
- To examine how unrestricted sociosexuality relates to relationship satisfaction and commitment across different relationship structures.
Main Methods:
- Two studies surveyed romantically involved adults (N=300 and N=270) about their sociosexuality, relationship commitment, agreement type, and experiences with extradyadic sex (EDS).
- Statistical analyses examined the moderating roles of commitment levels and relationship types (consensual monogamy [CM] vs. consensual nonmonogamy [CNM]) on the sociosexuality-infidelity link.
Main Results:
- Individuals in CM relationships with prior EDS were more sociosexually unrestricted.
- Unrestricted sociosexuality positively predicted EDS in less committed CM individuals but not in highly committed ones.
- CNM individuals were most unrestricted, showing no differences in commitment or satisfaction compared to CM without EDS; CM with EDS reported lowest commitment and satisfaction.
- The negative association between unrestricted sociosexuality and relationship quality was significant in CM but not CNM relationships.
Conclusions:
- Relationship type and commitment level significantly moderate the impact of unrestricted sociosexuality on infidelity and relationship quality.
- Consensual nonmonogamy may buffer against the negative consequences of unrestricted sociosexuality on relationship satisfaction and commitment.
- Findings highlight the importance of considering relationship structures when examining sociosexuality and its relational outcomes.
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