Article

Negotiating a Friends with Benefits Relationship

Springer Nature
Archives of Sexual Behavior
Authors:
To read the full-text of this research, you can request a copy directly from the authors.

Abstract

Friends with benefits (FWB) refers to "friends" who have sex. Study 1 (N = 125) investigated the prevalence of these relationships and why individuals engaged in this relationship. Results indicated that 60% of the individuals surveyed have had this type of relationship, that a common concern was that sex might complicate friendships by bringing forth unreciprocated desires for romantic commitment, and ironically that these relationships were desirable because they incorporated trust and comfort while avoiding romantic commitment. Study 2 (N = 90) assessed the relational negotiation strategies used by participants in these relationships. The results indicated that people in FWB relationships most often avoided explicit relational negotiation. Thus, although common, FWB relationships are often problematic for the same reasons that they are attractive.

No full-text available

Request Full-text Paper PDF

To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.

... Paradoxically, some researchers point out that individuals in FWBRs rarely set specific relational rules or assume that their partner shares the same expectations and goals, which often leads to misunderstandings [14,15]. However, newer studies indicate that the vast majority of people (80%) establish relational rules in FWBRs [1]. ...
... The prevalence of FWBRs is most often assessed among students in the USA due to the relative popularity of this phenomenon in academic settings [2]. Numerous independent studies have shown that about 50-60% of respondents have participated in this type of relationship at least once [11,14,21,22,23], making the data obtained seem reliable. However, it is important to note that these studies were limited to young, college-aged adults, so the results cannot be generalized to other age groups, making it impossible to determine the prevalence of FWBRs across the entire population. ...
... Findings from other studies on FWBR motives largely align with these categories [6,14,28,31]. It is also worth noting that in one study focused solely on women, respondents indicated that their motives for engaging in FWBRs included lack of time for traditional relationships due to career demands and negative experiences in past relationships [6]. ...
Article
Full-text available
Introduction and Objective :"Friends with benefits" relationships (FWBR) are becoming increasingly common. Defined as friendships involving sexual activity without romantic commitment, FWBRs blur the boundaries between friendship and romance. The aim of this article is to gather the most up-to-date information on "friends with benefits" relationships.Review Methods: A review of studies available on the PubMed platform (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/) was conducted, including articles with free full-text access that used the keywords: “friends with benefits relationship”, “friends with benefits,” "FWB," and "FWBR."Brief Description of the State of Knowledge: Many individuals involved in friends with benefits relationships establish their own rules, and one surprising trend is the frequent observance of sexual exclusivity. Research on the prevalence of FWBRs has focused largely on students in the USA, but there is limited data on FWBRs in Poland, where they appear to be rising in popularity, influenced by dating sites and population migrations. Studies indicate that men, residents of larger cities, and less religious individuals are more likely to participate in FWBRs.Summary: FWBRs offer a unique dynamic where individuals can avoid the emotional commitments and negative traits of traditional romantic relationships. However, these relationships also present challenges, such as differing expectations between the partners and the societal stigma that may be associated with them.
... In the following section, the term "Friends with Benefits" (FWB) will be explained to display the differentiation from the concept of friendships, particularly those to the SPS, and to rationalize the separate understanding of each term. FWB is a relatively recent construct that comprises features of both friendships and romantic relationships, thus, it can be considered as something in between (Bisson & Levine, 2009). "FWB relationships share aspects of traditional friendships (e.g., shared activities, trust, and mutual reliance) as well as romantic relationships (e.g., sexual intimacy); however, they are a unique variant of both" (Owen & Fincham, 2012, p. 983). ...
... "FWB relationships share aspects of traditional friendships (e.g., shared activities, trust, and mutual reliance) as well as romantic relationships (e.g., sexual intimacy); however, they are a unique variant of both" (Owen & Fincham, 2012, p. 983). This form of relationship, for example, was reported to appear quite often among students in the USA (Bisson & Levine, 2009;Afifi & Faulkner, 2000). ...
... One study revealed that participants who never maintained FWB considered it immoral and inappropriate for the concept of friendship, whereas participants experiencing FWB reported the aspect of sexual intimacy with a trusted person as beneficial (Bisson & Levine, 2009). However, the stated advantage was also suggested to be a main disadvantage since being sexually intimate could lead to conflicts from a futural perspective in case someone develops romantic feelings for the other person (Bisson & Levine, 2009). ...
Book
In her empirical study, Janina Fandel provides a deep insight into the dynamics of friendships with the sexually preferred sex. She highlights the challenges and potential benefits of these relationships from an evolutionary psychological perspective. While most research to date has focused on heteronormative relationships, this study is one of the first to include homosexual individuals. By demonstrating that there are differences between the sexes and also regarding the sexual orientations, the author makes a significant contribution to the understanding of human relationships and to further scientific discourse.
... This type of relationship is getting more popular, especially among young adults, and most often casual sex occurs between friends rather than with strangers (Bisson & Levine, 2009;Grello et al., 2006). Additionally, overall, most people reported good experiences in FWBR and would participate in one again (Erlandsson et al., 2013). ...
... But why do people engage in these relationships? Some possible reasons are due to its accessibility, safety, being easier to understand their partner's feelings, trust, being able to still engage in friendly activities with their FWB partner, and not having to be exclusive (Bisson & Levine, 2009;Erlandsson et al., 2013;Letcher et al., 2022). Additionally, studies conducted in Canada and the USA appeared to not show any significant On the one hand, studies conducted in the USA and Canada reported that women are more likely than men to have negative experiences, to feel uncertain, and to avoid FWBR, while others report that both men and women have mostly positive experiences in this type of relationship (Gusarova et al., 2012;Letcher et al., 2022;Owen & Fincham, 2011;Weaver et al., 2011;Williams & Jovanovic, 2015). ...
... The fights for women's sexual agency led to the possibility of them exploring their sexuality not only outside of the marriage, but also outside of a "traditional courtship". As previously stated, since the 90s, the context of amorous/sexual encounters has changed dramatically, since casual sex has become a more frequent option among young people and has been, in recent years, a research topic (Bisson & Levine, 2009;Owen & Fincham, 2011;Owen & Fincham, 2012). ...
... Berdasarkan penelitian yang pernah dilakukan oleh (Bisson & Levine, 2009;Fauzi, 2021), menyatakan bahwa terdapat manfaat dalam hubungan FWB. Sisi positif yang diperoleh dalam hubungan FWB di antaranya: 1) adanya perasaan bahagia yang dimiliki pelaku karena diinginkan oleh orang lain; 2) adanya peningkatan rasa percaya diri karena pelaku melakukan hubungan seksual dengan temannya; 3) hubungan FWB dianggap sebagai suatu hubungan yang efektif dalam hal memiliki kedekatan dan persahabatan dengan orang lain. ...
... Dari pernyataan tersebut, diketahui bahwa kebutuhan seksual mereka dapat terpenuhi tanpa adanya ikatan secara resmi dan hubungan pertemanan mereka hanya sekedar untuk memuaskan hasrat seksualitas . Walaupun demikian, FWB akan mempersulit adanya hubungan persahabatan antara laki-laki dan perempuan (Bisson & Levine, 2009). Hal ini berkaitan dengan FWB yang menunjukkan aspek negatif ketika dilakukan. ...
... Berdasarkan penelitian sebelumnya mengenai FWB terdapat kesamaan karakteristik yang terbagi dalam tiga kategori (Hughes, Morrison, & Asada, 2005;Bisson & Levine, 2009;Owen & Fincham, 2011). Pertama, keintiman seksual; kedua, persahabatan tetap berjalan; ketiga, adanya keinginan atau kesepakatan di antara kedua individu untuk menghindari adanya komitmen secara resmi, seperti berpacaran atau menuju tahap pernikahan. ...
Article
Full-text available
Friends with Benefit (FWB) is an interpersonal relationship that only promotes mutually beneficial activities for actors. The FWB phenomenon is often carried out by students in Malang City. According to the BKKBN, 80% of people in Malang are married due to pregnancies outside of marriage (KTD). Therefore, researchers are interested in studying the phenomenon of the FWB relationship among students in Malang City. This study aims to determine the construction of meaning and the process of interpreting the FWB relationship among students in Malang City. This study uses a phenomenological approach with the theoretical framework of Peter L. Berger which focuses on the process of individual social construction of reality. There are six informants in this study. Data analysis is used through several stages, namely, data collection, data reduction, data presentation, and verification and drawing conclusions. From the results of this study, it was found that the meaning of the FWB relationship was not only limited to sexual activity, but there were other meanings. Other meanings, such as a friend to talk to entertain themselves, a friend for a walk or even just doing lecture assignments. The other findings that were found were worries and fears when undergoing FWB relationships. The concerns and fears referred to in terms of the FWB relationship being lived are known by partners and even other people and the fear of contracting HIV/AIDS.
... Jak pokazują wyniki badań, relacje "seksualnych przyjaciół" niekiedy przekształcają się w długotrwały związek (Kan, Cares, 2006;Fisher, 2017), jednak taki scenariusz należy do rzadkości. Większość analiz dowodzi, że tego typu relacja z założenia nie jest zorientowana na przyszłość (Hughes, Morrison, Asada, 2005;Bisson, Levine, 2009). Kanadyjscy studenci uważają, że friendship with benefits, ze względu na umiarkowany poziom intymności oraz niski poziom namiętności i zaangażowania, jest podobna do innych romantycznych związków (Weaver, MacKeigan, MacDonald, 2011). ...
... Kanadyjscy studenci uważają, że friendship with benefits, ze względu na umiarkowany poziom intymności oraz niski poziom namiętności i zaangażowania, jest podobna do innych romantycznych związków (Weaver, MacKeigan, MacDonald, 2011). Zwolennicy tego typu relacji twierdzą, że zapewnia ona towarzystwo i zabawę z pominięciem zmartwień i komplikacji (Bisson, Levine, 2009;Weaver, MacKeigan, MacDonald, 2011). Atutem jest możliwość zaspokojenia potrzeb seksualnych bez zobowiązań typowych dla tradycyjnego związku romantycznego oraz konieczności rezygnowania z wolności i niezależności związanej z byciem singlem. ...
... Dopuszczalna jest możliwość posiadania jednocześnie innych partnerów. Jednak, jak pokazują badania, w związkach typu fiens with benefits na ogół jedynym partnerem jest przyjaciel (VanderDrift, Kelly, Lehmiller, 2012;Mongeau, Knight, Williams, Eden i Shaw, 2013), który zapewnia poczucie ufności i bezpieczeństwa (Hughes, Morrison, Asada, 2005;Bisson, Levine, 2009;Karlsen, Traeen, 2013). ...
Article
Full-text available
W narracji biograficznej młodych dorosłych przedłużenie dojrzewania to świadome oddzielenie życia seksualnego od prokreacji i małżeństwa. Kultura „podrywu”, obrazująca wyraźną zmianę w kierunku akceptacji przez młodych dorosłych w zachodnich społeczeństwach przygodnego, nierelacyjnego seksu, wywołuje znaczne zainteresowanie w naukach społecznych. Prezentowany artykuł definiuje i opisuje społeczny konstrukt „przyjaźni z korzyścią/bonusem” definiowanej jako relacja, w której przyjaciele przeciwnej płci utrzymują ze sobą powtarzalne kontakty seksualne, wykluczają jednak romantyczne uczucie i zaangażowanie. Związki te postrzegane są jako krótkoterminowe strategie dobierania się w pary, niezwiązane z planem stworzenia stałego związku. Celem artykułu jest przedstawienie wyników badań jakościowych opartych na 42 na wpół ustrukturalizowanych wywiadach z kobietami i mężczyznami w wieku od 27 do 38 lat, zamieszkującymi z rodzicami w Warszawie. Analiza skupia się na zobrazowaniu stosunku młodych dorosłych do friendship with benefits jako jednej z form realizowanych przez nich samych relacji w intymnym związku, jak i oceny tego nowego wymiaru relacyjności w środowisku ich rówieśników.
... While non-romantic partners, i.e., partners that are in love, but are not dating, engage in sexual activity more frequently than friends, friends engage socially more frequently than acquaintances (Rodrigue et al., 2018). Bisson and Levine (2009), on the other hand, found that friends involved in casual sexual relationships perceive moderate intimacy, as well as low passion and commitment. However, their sample consisted of only 90 participants aged 18 to 40, while Rodrigue and colleagues (2018) sampled more than 400 emerging adults. ...
... This theory suggests that casual relationships differ in terms of intimacy, passion, and commitment. Previous studies have shown that casual sexual relationships are characterised by moderate (Bisson and Levine, 2009) to high (Rodrigue et al., 2018) levels of passion, low (Bisson and Levine, 2009) to moderate (Rodrigue et al., 2018) levels of intimacy, and low levels of commitment (Bisson and Levine, 2009). Our findings suggest that partners in casual sexual relationships such as one-night stands, booty calls, and fuck buddies experience high levels of passion and low levels of intimacy and commitment. ...
... This theory suggests that casual relationships differ in terms of intimacy, passion, and commitment. Previous studies have shown that casual sexual relationships are characterised by moderate (Bisson and Levine, 2009) to high (Rodrigue et al., 2018) levels of passion, low (Bisson and Levine, 2009) to moderate (Rodrigue et al., 2018) levels of intimacy, and low levels of commitment (Bisson and Levine, 2009). Our findings suggest that partners in casual sexual relationships such as one-night stands, booty calls, and fuck buddies experience high levels of passion and low levels of intimacy and commitment. ...
Article
Full-text available
Traditionally, a romantic relationship starts with two people going on dates and developing emotional and then physical closeness. However, social developments and social media have begun to change that. Therefore, the main aim of our qualitative study was to outline modern dating scripts and forms of casual sexual relationships among Croatian emerging adults, and to identify the needs they fulfill. We conducted four focus groups with young people aged 18 to 25, of whom some were unemployed, some employed and some were university students. The results suggest that emerging adults in Croatia equally choose the traditional dating script and modern casual relationships, such as open relationship, friendship with benefits, fuck buddy, booty call, and one-night stand. Long-term relationships are seen as a step before marriage or cohabitation, and some young people try to avoid them until their career and other life circumstances are stable enough. In that sense, casual relationships can be satisfying, at least temporarily. However, they can also be confusing because different people seem to define them in different ways and, accordingly, have different expectations. The present study broadens our understanding of romantic relationships in emerging adulthood, and as one of the first Croatian studies on this topic, makes an important contribution to the field of personal relationships. It can serve not only as a reference for future studies but also as a base for developing prevention programmes that strengthen romantic competence and develop communication skills for emerging adults.
... Friends spend relatively little time talking about their relationship, rather they remain content maintaining the existing relational state (Guerrero & Chavez, 2005). Other ways romantic relationships differentiate from friendships involve: a strong reciprocal sexual component (Bisson & Levine, 2007;de Jong et al., 2019), exclusivity (Brehm et al., 2002), and emotional intensity or intimacy (Sels et al., 2020). Definitions of romantic relationships commonly include romantic love and sexual contact in contrast to friendships that may exclude these criteria (Bisson & Levine, 2007). ...
... Other ways romantic relationships differentiate from friendships involve: a strong reciprocal sexual component (Bisson & Levine, 2007;de Jong et al., 2019), exclusivity (Brehm et al., 2002), and emotional intensity or intimacy (Sels et al., 2020). Definitions of romantic relationships commonly include romantic love and sexual contact in contrast to friendships that may exclude these criteria (Bisson & Levine, 2007). Individuals indicate romantic and intimate interest, disclose personal information, and devote time to another individual with hopes that these things will be reciprocated (Bedrow et al., 2008). ...
... We clarify distinctions on FWBRs and the friendzone. FWBRs establish understandings of friendships or romantic relationships (Bisson & Levine, 2007) and highlight differences in pre-sexual interaction, friendship strength, and romantic relationships (see Mongeau et al., 2013). The FWBR typology offers one type that focuses specifically on sex exclusively (just sex) or on friendship (true friends), and the other types (successful transition in, accidental transition in, failed transition in, or transition out) highlight the transitionary positionality of FWBRs between friendships and romantic relationships. ...
Article
This study explores the friendzone, or the lexicon surrounding the nexus between platonic and romantic relationships. The friendzone situates layperson and scholarly depictions of platonic and romantic relationships. Minimal scholarship explores this common vernacular from either perspective—those that communicate romantic attraction or those that react. Specifically, this study investigates how initiators (those who communicate interest) and respondents (those who react to declarations) participate in the communicative and relational process of friendzoning. Participants ( N = 787) completed open-ended questions about their friendzone experiences, communication from initiators, reaction of respondents, and changes to friendships. This study utilizes analytic induction to provide further conceptualization and delineation of the friendzone through identifying friendzoning types, initiator communication strategies, respondent reactions, and relationship changes. Findings allowed for: the conceptualizing of the friendzone, highlighting obstacles for navigating non-normative relationship scripts, and identifying risks involved with relationship change.
... Increasing in popularity among high school and college students, friends with benefits relationships (FWBRs) consist of a sexual relationship between friends that lacks a romantic commitment (Bisson & Levine, 2007). The literature is mixed on youth's satisfaction with FWBRs. ...
... Recent studies indicate an increasing acceptance of casual sexual relationships such as FWBRs, hookups, one-night stands, and booty calls, among others (Claxton & van Dulmen, 2013). FWBRs are a unique subset of casual sexual relationships as they involve sexual activity; however, FWBRs are more likely to involve emotional intimacy and repeated sexual interactions over time (Bisson & Levine, 2007;. Although casual sexual relationship types do overlap, subtle differences exist which can lead to important implications. ...
... Distinguishing between types of casual sexual relationships can have important implications as the motivations for engaging in a FWBR may differ in comparison to seeking a one-night stand. For example, it is possible that youth may be more likely to initiate a FWBR, rather than a hookup, in order to transition into a long-term relationship with that friend considering the likelihood of moderately high intimacy levels in the already existing friendship (Bisson & Levine, 2007). Thus, more research is needed to investigate potential differences in motivations based on type of casual sexual relationship. ...
... Friendships with benefits, usually meaning two friends who occasionally have sex, are included in this framework of casual encounters. The intimacy of the friendship is maintained with the added benefit of having sex with no commitment (Bisson & Levine, 2009;Puentes et al., 2008;Faulkner, 2000). Others argue the impossibility of friendship becoming a permanent romantic relationship because of the predisposition towards Othello syndrome (Easton & Hardy, 2013;Thalmann, 2008). ...
... The foremost studies on friends with benefits focus on several themes, the motivation for initiating such a relationship, associated benefits, type of commitment; the evolution of the relationship; sexual behaviour and risk; psychological wellbeing; disadvantages; the influence of gender; sexual roles; ethnic differences; personality patterns; gender violence and infidelity (Afifi & Faulkner, 2000;Paul et al., 2000;Manning et al., 2005;Grello et al., 2006;Williams et al., 2007;Emmet, 2008;Goodboy & Myers, 2008;Bisson & Levine, 2009;Green & Morman, • Eros (red). Signifies physical and emotional love. ...
... Our research found that 82.5% of the sample had experienced this kind of relationship at least once. This was congruent with other studies, where it is the predominant sexual interaction among university students (Bisson and Levine, 2009;Bradshaw et al., 2010). Nevertheless, this sample was not university students and is quite heterogeneous. ...
Article
Full-text available
Objetivos: Este estudio analiza las relaciones de amigos con beneficios y los diferentes subtipos que la componen. Pretende conocer el predominio, la satisfacción, la aspiración futura de los participantes y los estilos de amor. Método: 400 personas de nacionalidad española completaron un cuestionario sobre vínculos relacionales y estilos de amor. Resultados: los amigos con beneficios es una práctica común, aunque la relación romántica es más prevalente y satisfactoria. Los estilos de amor son diferentes según el género y el vínculo relacional. Conclusión: Se muestra un universo relacional cambiante, formas de poliamor que conviven con las relaciones tradicionales y roles de género que se están transformando.
... As they are traditionally defined, FWBRs combine friendships and ongoing sexual interactions in a context where partners actively avoid, deny, or have no romantic feelings or motivations beyond the casual sex relationship (Bisson & Levine, 2009). Despite their simplistic definition, research indicates that FWBRs are surprisingly complex (Mongeau et al., 2019;Vanderdrift et al., 2012) and differ on relational histories, motivations, and intent (Mongeau et al., 2013). ...
... Talking about the relationship, however, has been considered relational work (Knight et al., 2014)-a communicative chore that is stereotypically avoided in a FWBR. In fact, many FWBR partners actively avoid explicit relational talk altogether (Bisson & Levine, 2009). ...
... Thus, each partner might negotiate tensions between opposing discourses (Baxter, 2011) that reflect their perceptions and motivations for the relationship (Mongeau et al., 2019). As implied by the conceptual definition, the inherent nature of a FWBR is that it is a casual sex relationship; any relational talk, therefore, would directly oppose the arrangement of that relationship type (Bisson & Levine, 2009). The nature of a friendship, particularly a close one, on the other hand, would likely lack that proscription against relational talk. ...
Article
Full-text available
Establishing communicative and behavioral boundaries in romantic relationships provides partners with a greater sense of relational stability and certainty. For romantic relationships, these boundaries, such as sexual exclusivity, are relatively straightforward. For casual sex relationships, however, the relational rules are less stable and certain. This exploratory study examined rules in friends with benefits relationships (FWBRs) for 109 college students in the USA. Responses to open-ended questions were collected through an online questionnaire, and data were qualitatively analyzed through an inductive thematic analysis. The data were structured into communication rules, sexual rules, and relational definition rules. Results provide overlap and extension of previous work investigating rules in FWBRs. Notably, participants reported sexual exclusivity as an important rule. Additionally, potentially competing discourses in FWBR rules were best understood through the lens of relational dialectics. Findings reflect a tension in terms of relational work, as partners struggle with maintaining their sexual and friendship relationship while not falling into the “territory” of romantic relationships.
... Berakhirnya hubungan romantis sebelumnya membuat kedua partisipan memutuskan untuk menghindari hubungan dengan komitmen. Sejalan dengan hal tersebut, sebuah penelitian menunjukkan bahwa hubungan FWB diinginkan karena dalam hubungan ini melibatkan kepercayaan dan kenyamanan, sementara menghindari komitmen dari hubungan romantis (Bisson & Levine, 2009). Kedua partisipan penelitian ini menunjukkan alasan yang sama ketika memutuskan untuk memulai hubungan FWB, yaitu menghindari komitmen. ...
... Aktivitas seksual yang terjadi pada kedua partisipan yaitu hingga tahap sexual intercourse. Sejalan dengan penelitian lain yang menunjukkan bahwa presentase terbesar dari partisipannya yang menjalani hubungan FWB, yaitu sebanyak 22%, tipe aktivitas seksual yang paling banyak dilakukan adalah sexual intercourse (Bisson & Levine, 2009) Partisipan menunjukkan frekuensi aktivitas seksual yang beragam. Pada partisipan perempuan, berbeda pasangan FWB akan membedakan dalam hal frekuensi terjadinya aktivitas seksual tersebut. ...
... Pembicaraan yang terjadi dengan pasangan FWB pun terjadi setelah pertemuan aktivitas seksual kesekian kalinya. Sebuah penelitian menunjukkan bahwa tidak ada perbedaan gender yang signifikan pada pola komunikasi yang terjadi terkait dengan pembicaraan hubungan saat itu dan masa depan, hal tersebut dianggap mungkin terjadi karena frekuensi komunikasi yang rendah (Bisson & Levine, 2009). Pada penelitian ini justru terdapat perbedaan signifikan pada komunikasi mengenai hubungan jika dikaitkan dengan gender. ...
Article
Full-text available
Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengalaman hubungan friends with benefits para pengguna Tinder. Metode yang digunakan adalah metode penelitian kualitatif dengan pendekatan fenomenologi. Teknik penggalian data yang digunakan pada penelitian ini adalah wawancara mendalam kepada partisipan yang pernah menjalani hubungan friends with benefits dan pengguna Tinder. Partisipan pada penelitian ini berjumlah dua orang. Teknik analisis yang digunakan adalah Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) dengan tahapan penyusunan transkrip wawancara, pencatatan awal, merumuskan tema emergen, merumuskan tema superordinat, membuat pola pengalaman antarpartisipan dan melaporkan hasil. Hasil penelitian ini menemukan bahwa: a) proses pencarian pasangan FWB melalui Tinder melibatkan kesan khas yaitu kesan sensual meskipun diwujudkan dengan pengalaman unik masing-masing partisipan. b) pemaknaan hubungan FWB bermacam-macam, yaitu hubungan untuk having fun, teman tapi mesra, dan pemuas kebutuhan seksual. c) pemaknaan pasangan friends with benefits sebagai teman dan sex partner. Meskipun setiap partisipan memaknai hubungan FWB-nya secara berbeda, satu-satunya poin kesepakatannya adalah aktivitas seksual.
... The term friends with benefits (FWB; e.g. Bisson & Levine, 2009) refers to a friendship, which transgresses the normative belief that sexual intimacy is reserved for romantic relationships, and has no place in platonic ones. Rather than transitioning the friendship into a romantic relationship, sexual intimacy is simply added as another aspect of the connection. ...
... However, because FWB relationships are often not explicitly negotiated, romantic commitment might emerge implicitly. The involved might have the implicit concern that sexual intimacy might be expected to lead to romantic commitment and thereby complicate the relationship (Bisson & Levine, 2009). Alternatively, the FWB arrangement might be entered specifically with the implicit hope of future romantic commitment (Machia et al., 2020). ...
Thesis
Full-text available
This thesis explores the transformational dynamics of intimate relationships as they are currently situated within long-standing systems of norms and the pull of modernity's characteristics in Western societies. Drawing on historical, cultural, and theoretical perspectives, this thesis investigates how tensions within certain forms of intimate relationships lead to their transformation. It adopts a holistic approach, encompassing diverse forms of intimate relationships, including romantic, sexual, and platonic connections, which are all governed by beliefs and practices pertaining to three systems of norms: amatonormativity, mononormativity, and heteronormativity. The hegemonic form of intimacy-modern monogamy-is guided by these systems, which promote the dependence in and stability of a romantically and sexually exclusive couple. However, modern monogamy is also influenced by modernity, characterised by an emphasis on individual independence and equality. Applying Jaeggi's (2014) critique of forms of life framework, modern monogamy is constructed as a form of life in crisis, unable to solve the internal tensions between the institutionalised norms and the pull of modern values. As a result, alternative relationship forms emerge, which seek to resolve the issues and present a better problem-solving strategy, such as open relationships, polyamory or being single by choice. These alternative models break open some of the traditional norms to promote independence and equality of the individuals, while preserving dependence and stability within their relationship(s). However, this research argues that they merely shift around the normative systems as fixed points, providing a temporary relief, but ultimately failing to address the underlying issues causing the crisis: the imbalance of independence and dependence, and the idealisation of equality, while being embedded within a system of structural inequality, which they reinforce through their practices. This thesis highlights various paths to break the vicious circle, such as the deconstruction or transcendence of norms, and discusses issues of privilege and agency, which can limit individuals' ability to lead the relationships they desire. By situating the transformation of intimate relationships in their historical and cultural context, this research offers a critical examination of the evolving landscape of intimate relationships and the potential for future transformation towards more inclusive and equitable forms of intimacy.
... Odnos torej ni ne prijateljstvo ne romantično razmerje, temveč vključuje elemente obojega (npr. Bisson in Levine 2009). Uveljavil se je tudi izraz kolega za seks (angl. ...
... 2017;Fielder in Carey 2010b;Holman in Sillars 2012;Kalish in Kimel 2011;Paul, McManus in Hayes 2000). Poleg tega je 40-60  mladih odraslih poročalo, da so imeli vsaj enega prijatelja z ugodnostmi (Bisson in Levine 2009;Owen in Fincham 2011a). Odstotek mladih odraslih, ki so se v posamezni raziskavi odločili za priložnostni spolni odnos, je bil med drugim povezan z operacionalizacijo priložnostnih spolnih odnosov in odločitvijo za uporabo izraza hookup ali casual sex. ...
... na fotografijah, kot posamezniki z drugimi stili navezanosti. To je lahko še posebej izrazito pri mladih posameznikih, ki opazujejo partnerje v interakciji s prijatelji nasprotnega spola, glede na to, da lahko tovrstna prijateljstva študentov redno vključujejo spogledljiv in intimen stik (Bisson in Levine 2009;Egland, Spitzberg in Zormeier 1996v Miller idr. 2014. ...
... 2014). Naše rezultate, ki so bili pridobljeni na vzorcu mladih odraslih posameznikov, je mogoče povezati tudi z ugotovitvami avtorjev Bisson in Levine (2009v Miller idr. 2014 ter Egland, Spitzberg in Zormeier (1996v Miller idr. ...
Article
Namen naše raziskave je bil preveriti, kako samospoštovanje, zadovoljstvo s partnerskim odnosom in anksiozna navezanost napovedujejo različne dimenzije ljubosumja ter ljubosumje na Facebooku. Prav tako smo želeli preučiti še interakcijo med anksiozno navezanostjo in trajanjem partnerskega odnosa pri napovedovanju različnih vidikov ljubosumja. V raziskavi je sodelovalo 139 udeležencev, ki so izpolnili vprašalnike samospoštovanja, zadovoljstva s partnerskim odnosom, navezanosti v bližnjih odnosih in ljubosumja. Rezultati kažejo, da le anksiozna navezanost statistično pomembno napoveduje vse vidike ljubosumja. Prav tako smo ugotovili, da je interakcija med anksiozno navezanostjo in trajanjem partnerskega odnosa statistično pomembna le v primeru napovedovanja vedenjskega ljubosumja in ljubosumja na Facebooku. Dobljeni rezultati so bili le delno v skladu z zastavljenimi hipotezami. Izpostavljene so tudi pomanjkljivosti raziskave ter možnosti za nadaljnje raziskovanje.
... For the LGBTQ community, casual sexual behaviors have also been associated with reduced minority stress and increased connectedness to the LGBTQ community (Jaffe et al., 2021). Similarly, friends-with-benefits are defined as friends who engage in regular sexual behaviors with each other (Bisson & Levine, 2009;Lehmiller et al., 2014). These relationships are also common during emerging adulthood (e.g., Arnett, 2024) and may evolve into a romantic relationship, but this interest is rarely communicated (Owen & Fincham, 2011, which may explain why friends with benefits report worse communication about sexual activities, lower sexual satisfaction, and less satisfaction with the friendship component of their relationship than partners in committed relationships (Lehmiller et al., 2014). ...
... 119), and which was composed by ratings of emotional exclusivity, commitment, sexual exclusivity and emotional involvement in our study. Sternberg's theory had already been used to describe different types of relationships, including steady [79], and different types of casual relationships [39,80]. In our study, the three factors allowed for richer and granulated distinctions between the different relationship types. ...
Article
Full-text available
Background While the existence of a complex variety of casual sexual relationships (CSRs) has been acknowledged, studies rarely describe the prevalence of condom use across these relationships or how their hybrid nature, specifically relationship characteristics, affect condom use. This study aims to describe condom use within committed relationships and various types of casual sexual relationships (CSRs), examining the influence of relationship characteristics on condom use among culturally validated relationship types (committed, friends with benefits, hookups, booty call). Methods Emerging adults (N = 728, 18–29 years, M = 22.56; SD = 3.01) completed a survey with four blocks: sociodemographics; brief sexual history; relationships over the previous year; and current relationship, assessing relationship type, ten relationship characteristics (e.g., commitment, emotional and sexual exclusivity, partner acquaintance, sexual involvement) and condom use (vaginal, oral, and anal), operationalized by three measures (use at last encounter, likert-type scale and percentage of use). Results The results showed patterns in condom use by relationship type and illuminated how relationship characteristics—grouped into three factors: commitment, intimacy, and sexuality—mediate condom use. Condom use was more frequent in vaginal than anal and oral sex, and less frequent in committed relationships. No significant differences were found in condom use in vaginal sex between committed relationships and hookups, with condom in these relationships being significantly lower than in booty call. Intimacy mediated between all contrasts tested and condom use in vaginal sex, while sexuality mediated between committed vs. CSRs and condom use in anal and oral sex. Conclusions Findings point to the need of considering the diversity of CSRs for understanding condom use and highlight the role of intimacy as a relevant mechanism associated with condom use in vaginal sex and of sexuality in oral and anal sex, which should be taken into consideration in the tailoring of health promoting efforts.
... Forming friends-with-benefits relationships allows the individuals involved to have a lower risk of acquiring STIs with someone they feel comfortable with (van Raalte et al., 2021). Bisson and Levine (2009) found that among college students, 60% had been in at least one friendswith-benefits relationship. Although fatuous love can lead to romantic, companionate, or consummate love, in most cases, a friends-with-benefits relationship results in a strained friendship or the end of a friendship (Owen et al., 2013). ...
Article
Full-text available
A romantic trajectory that has received little attention in the literature is “situationships,” which is a colloquial term used in some Western cultures to describe a complex relationship situation. According to Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love, experiences of companionate and/or consummate love are often preceded by romantic love. However, situationships may be experiences of romantic love, without increases in commitment. The goal of this study is to describe situationships using a mixed-methods, exploratory approach. The first phase of this study involved 28 participants in one-on-one, semi-structured Zoom interviews regarding their entire relationship history, and then identifying if any of these experiences were situationships. For the second phase, 261 participants completed an online survey regarding their three most recent relationship experiences. The goal of the first phase (qualitative analyses) was to define situationships and describe how these relationships were different from other relationships. The goal of the second phase (quantitative analyses) was to differentiate situationships from non-situationships using empirical data based on results from the first phase of the study. Using reflexive thematic analyses, situationships were defined as romantic relationships with no clarity or label, low levels of commitment, but similar romantic behaviors as established couples by means of affection and sexual behaviors and time spent together. Independent samples t-tests using Bonferroni corrections provided some support for the prescribed definition as there were significant differences regarding relationship quality and similarities regarding affectionate and sexual behaviors between situationships and non-situationships. These results reflect that people in a situationship are, for the most part, emotionally and sexually invested even if they are not in a fully committed relationship.
... In simpler terms, people maintain backburner relationships, whether they are already committed or not, as a readily available alternative in case they wish to change their current romantic/sexual situation. Due to their prevalence in popular culture, particularly among college students, and their relevance to human sexuality, backburners may be comparable to casual sexual experiences such as hookups and friends with benefits (Aubrey & Smith, 2013;Bishop et al., 2019;Bisson & Levine, 2009;Hughes et al., 2005;Stein et al., 2019). ...
Article
Full-text available
Backburner refers to a desired prospective romantic/sexual partner with whom one interacts with the purpose of possibly creating a future romantic or sexual relationship. Modern technology has made it easier to develop and maintain relationships with backburners. This study analyzed the different motivations that individuals (N = 762) use towards their backburner relationships. Results from this study revealed that there were six main motivations for backburner relationships: 1) sex or possibility of sexual intimacy; 2) previous romantic feelings with this person (e.g., first love, previous romance, ex-boyfriend/girlfriend); 3) to maintain a friendship in hopes of a potential romantic relationship; 4) because it is exciting or fun to keep in contact with this person; 5) social contact to keep tabs on their life; and 6) there is no true motivation. Findings suggest that individuals typically communicate with their backburner relationships through text messages.
... At this time of increased independence, good decisions can lead to greater well-being; however, this is not always the case. In American college populations, it has been estimated that the lifetime prevalence rates of casual sexual relationships and experiences (CSREs) are around 62% for 'friends with benefits' relationships and booty calls (a non-long-term relationship partner with the intent of having sex) (Bisson & Levine, 2009;Jonason et al., 2009) and between 53% and 84% for one-night stands and hook-ups Lambert et al., 2003;Paul et al., 2000), with these CSREs uncommitted and sexual in nature (Claxton et al., 2015). ...
Article
Full-text available
Chronic insecurities that emerge from adverse experiences in early intimate partner relationships in adolescence and emerging adulthood can have profound impacts on mental health and well‐being. Less clear is the extent to which these experiences for parents impact subsequent relationships within and across generations. We examine the extent to which secure, dismissing, pre‐occupied, and fearful intimate partner relationships in adolescence and emerging adulthood, well before becoming a parent, are associated with next‐generation patterns of attachment between mothers and infant offspring. Data were drawn from a nested study of infant–mother attachment ( n = 220) within the Australian Temperament Project Generation 3 Study ( N = 1167, est. 1983). Intimate partner relationships in adolescence and young adulthood were assessed by self‐report at 23–24 years of age. Over a decade later, infant–mother attachment security was assessed at 12 months post‐partum. Young adult intimate partner relationships defined by high levels of fearful, pre‐occupied, and dismissing attachment styles were reported in 11%, 17%, and 38% of young mothers, respectively. Increases in fear of intimacy in relationships were associated with an increase in the odds, by around 50%, of infant–mother insecure attachments (vs secure; OR = 1.56, 95% CI = 1.07, 2.28) and disorganised attachments (vs organised; OR = 1.49, 95% CI = 1.00, 2.22). A mother's self‐reported history of fear of intimacy within young adult relationships predicts later insecure and disorganised mother–infant attachments. Guidance and greater support for young people navigating their earliest intimate relationships may not only prevent adverse relational experiences at the time but also on becoming a parent. Findings have relevance for family and infant mental health therapies. Translating these findings into supported conversations may help prevent infant–mother attachment difficulties, or later repair them, through validation of the lingering effects of early fear of intimacy and empowerment of parents to prevent next‐generation infant experiences of distrust.
... The availability of mobile hook-up applications for smartphones, such as Tinder, have (to date) not led to increased casual sex practice in Europe. In the United States, the hook-up culture and 'friends with benefits' relationships seem to be much more widespread, especially at universities (Bisson and Levine 2009;Plagge and Matthiesen 2017). ...
... Engagement in CSREs has become socially normative among college students and young adults (Barriger & Vélez-Blasini, 2013). Anders et al. (2019) found that young people reported a number of benefits that motivated them to engage in casual sex, such as having fun, fulfilling sexual desires, and gaining social status, while avoiding the commitment associated with romantic relationships (Bisson & Levine, 2009). Earlier studies described and examined different patterns of CSREs, such as hook-ups, one-night stand encounters, or friends with benefits. ...
Article
Full-text available
While casual sexual relationships (CSREs) have become common among emerging adults, it is unknown whether these affect future relationships. Guided by a developmental perspective, the current study questions whether engagement in CSREs might be associated with the quality of future relationships by serving as a model of instability. Data were collected from 110 Israeli emerging adults at ages 23, 25, and 28. Contrary to our expectations, the level of engagement in CSREs at age 23 was associated only with a lower capacity to resolve problems and a higher tendency to downplay disagreements at age 28. However, an increase in the level of engagement in CSREs over the 5 years was associated with future negative relationship outcomes, greater avoidant romantic attachment, a tendency to conceal from one’s partner, and a lower sense of certainty and capacity to manage disagreements. Conceptually, findings suggest that when engagement in casual sex is repeated and increases over time, it might become a more stable pattern of behavior and have an adverse effect on future competence in handling a romantic relationship.
... "Friends with benefits" are friends who have sex, allowing the incorporation of trust and comfort in the relationship while avoiding explicit romantic commitment (Bisson & Levine, 2009;Owen & Fincham, 2011b). ...
... CSREs are common among college students, with multiple studies finding that over half of college students report lifetime CSRE engagement (see Claxton & van Dulmen, 2013, for review). For example, between 60 and 64% of college students report having experienced friends with benefits relationships and booty calls (Afifi & Faulkner, 2000;Bisson & Levine, 2009;Jonason et al., 2009). In contrast, Lyons et al., (2010Lyons et al., ( , 2013 found that young adults with less than a high school degree and those with some college experience who are not currently enrolled have significantly more casual sex partners than participants enrolled in four-year college programs. ...
Article
Full-text available
The present study examined the role of sexual behavior and sexual satisfaction in casual sexual relationships and experiences (CSREs) on both immediate and long-term intentions to engage in further CSREs in a sample of emerging adults. We examined how four different operationalizations of sexual behavior (1) Penetrative sexual behaviors not including oral sex vs. non-penetrative sexual behaviors, (2) Penetrative sexual behaviors including oral sex vs. non-penetrative sexual behaviors, (3) Most sexually intimate behaviors, and (4) A sum score of sexual behaviors) and sexual satisfaction were associated with immediate intentions to engage in CSREs (measured during a five-day daily diary) and long-term intentions to engage in CSREs (measured one month later). Follow-up analyses examined intentions to engage in additional CSREs with a different partner. Our sample (N = 274) included both college-attending and non-college-attending emerging adults. Path analysis models indicated that more sexually intimate behaviors were associated with higher sexual satisfaction following a CSRE. Additionally, sexual satisfaction, but not type of sexual behavior, was associated with both immediate and long-term intentions to engage in CSREs above and beyond the effects of sample, gender, alcohol consumption, and previous CSREs. Follow-up analyses indicated that only alcohol consumption and gender were significantly associated with immediate intentions to engage in a CSRE, and only daily diary intentions and gender were significantly associated with long-term intentions to engage in a CSRE. Overall, these findings support previous research that suggests positive outcomes of a CSRE (sexual satisfaction) are associated with higher intentions to engage in future CSREs.
... The Friends component of FBW conveys equitability and mutuality. But FWB relationships are most often exchange-based, with partners reporting different short-term and long-term preferences about the relationship, the centrality of sexual access and sexual contact in the relationship, and how persons evaluate the worthiness of those exchanges (i.e., the components of friendship; the components of sexual activity with a known and routine partner) from -usually -a relational scheme (Bisson & Levine, 2009;Epstein et al., 2009;Garcia, Reiber, Massey, & Merriwether, 2013;Hughes et al., 2005;Lehmiller et al., 2011;Williams & Jovanovic, 2015). Sexual tourism, including research when women pay men for sex, is predicated both on gender hegemony and exchange-based relationships (Berdychevsky et al., 2013;Berg et al., 2020;Brennan, 2007;Hamid-Turksoy et al., 2014;Patico, 2009;Meszaros, 2017;Taylor, 2001). ...
Article
Full-text available
Sugar relationships are described most commonly as negotiated relationships, usually between an older (sugar parent) partner and younger (sugar baby) partner and in which the younger partner is provided monetary or material gifts for their participation in the relationship (e.g., companionship, friendship, consensual sexual behavior). Sugar dating crosses the boundaries of not only what is considered a traditional relationship. Previous scholarship considers the legality of sugar relationships, negotiations in sugar relationships, power dynamics associated with sugar relationships, and if a transactional nature often seen as wedded to sugar dating can be seen as a form of sex work. The current study focused on advice sharing within Tumblr communities of sugar babies, including sugar-dating specific language. Tumblr, a popular blogging website, houses a prolific subculture for sugar dating, wherein blogs provide information/advice to potential or novice sugar babies about how to navigate the sugar experience. Using conventional content analysis, we report nine themes from blog posts of sugar babies. These themes include sugar dating advice, relationship maintenance once a sugar relationship begins, and what to expect in a sugar dating relationship. We discuss how the open and transactional components of sugar dating are not wholly dissimilar from other dyadic relationships.
... One common feature marking this transition from adolescence to adulthood is when individuals form their own belief and value systems by exploring religion away from parents and religious institutions (Arnett & Jensen, 2002). In addition to belief formation, this developmental stage is also characterized by engagement in sexual risk behaviors, such as having casual sexual relationships and engaging in unprotected sex, which places emerging adults at risk for unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) (Bisson & Levine, 2009;Downing-Matibag & Geisinger, 2009;Garcia, Reiber, Massey, & Merriwether, 2012;Owen & Fincham, 2011;Penhollow, Young, & Bailey, 2007;Puentes, Knox, & Zusman, 2008;Santelli, Brener, Lowry, Bhatt, & Zabin, 1998). ...
Article
Full-text available
Emerging adults face a disproportionate burden of unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases, especially in the southern United States. This study investigates how multiple dimensions of current religiosity as well as religious upbringing influence the sexual behaviors, including contraceptive usage, of individuals 18–25 years old (n = 211) in the South. Based on regression analyses, results suggest that emerging adults with higher levels of current religiosity are more likely to remain abstinent, but less likely to use pregnancy prevention methods, such as birth controls pills and long-acting reversible contraceptives. Having a religious upbringing is also associated with lower contraceptive usage. Through the assessment of multiple dimensions of religiosity and various sexual behaviors, this study presents a nuanced picture of the complex associations between religion and sexual health, specifically among emerging adults in the southern United States.
... One of the most common concerns voiced in Weaver et al.'s (2011) qualitative study was a fear of unequal feelings developing in a FWBR, where one individual could develop deeper feelings that their FWB did not reciprocate. Partners in FWBRs often report concern about different relationship expectations (i.e., one partner expects sexual exclusivity while the other does not; e.g., Bisson & Levine, 2009;Weaver et al., 2011). Asymmetrical commitment is not uncommon in romantic relationships Stanley et al., 2011Stanley et al., , 2006Stanley et al., , 2010Stanley et al., , 2004 and is associated with negative outcomes (Oriña et al., 2011;Rhoades et al., 2012), even for partners high in individual commitment (Stanley et al., 2017). ...
Article
Friends with benefits relationships (FWBRs) are a common form of relationship for college students that combine aspects of friendship with sex, yet little is known about commitment in these relationships and whether they are more similar to casual relationships or to romantic relationships. We investigated associations between investment, alternatives, and satisfaction, with commitment (per the Investment Model) in college students' FWBRs and examined how associations between variables differ by participant and partner gender. Primary analyses were conducted with male-female FWBRs (n = 252). Male-male (n = 19) and female-female (n = 4) FWBRs are described. Investment was the strongest predictor of commitment for participants in male-female FWBRs, with commitment higher among women than men when investment was high. Additionally, participants' perceptions that their own and their partners' commitment was asymmetrical, as well as reports of extra-dyadic sexual activity (i.e., sex outside the FWBR) correlated with lower commitment to the FWBR. Overall, results suggest that FWBRs can be distinguished not only from other casual sexual relationships such as hookups but can also be differentiated from romantic relationships. Future research and intervention work should measure commitment and investment to predict how these relationships can persist, as well as transition, over time.
... Hooking up, defined as intimate relations with another person without the expectation of a future relationship, is common among college students (Blanchard et al., 2018;Kenney et al., 2014;Lewis et al., 2012). Approximately, half of college students report hooking up in the last year (Bisson & Levine, 2009;Owen et al., 2010Owen et al., , 2014, and some estimates indicate 70-85% of students hookup at some point during college (Garcia et al., 2012). Much of the prior work in understanding college hookup culture has focused almost exclusively on negative physical outcomes of hooking up such as unplanned pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs; Bersamin et al., 2014;Fielder et al., 2014;Scott et al., 2011). ...
Article
Full-text available
“Hooking up” is prevalent on college campuses and is related to both positive and negative outcomes for students. The current study was an exploratory examination of hookup motives, and positive and negative affect, related to the most recent hookup experience. Participants were 256 U.S. college students who reported hooking up in the last 12 months. Students completed a 30-min anonymous online survey assessing behaviors and cognitions during their most recent hookup, including alcohol use at the time of the hookup, motives for hooking up, and post-hookup affect. The model demonstrated that gender, conformity motives, and social-relationship motives significantly and positively predicted negative affect, whereas enhancement motives negatively predicted negative affect. Coping and enhancement motives significantly and positively predicted positive affect, whereas alcohol use negatively predicted positive affect. This study was a unique examination of hookup motives, with important findings that explained large portions of variance in post-hookup affect. The overall model explained approximately 23% of the variance in negative affect and 49% of the variance in positive affect. Findings highlight that, depending on the hookup motive, hooking up can be associated with positive outcomes, such as positive affect.
... When this happens, the friends may decide not to act on their passion (Bleske-Rechek et al., 2012), or they may form a "friends-with-benefits" relationship, where they engage in sexual activity with rules to limit emotional attachment (Mongeau & Knight, 2015). Yet while friends-withbenefits relationships are very common among young people, only a very small proportion ever transition to a traditional romantic relationship (Bisson & Levine, 2009;Machia et al., 2020). ...
Article
Full-text available
There is more than one pathway to romance, but relationship science does not reflect this reality. Our research reveals that relationship initiation studies published in popular journals (Study 1) and cited in popular textbooks (Study 2) overwhelmingly focus on romance that sparks between strangers and largely overlook romance that develops between friends. This limited focus might be justified if friends-first initiation was rare or undesirable, but our research reveals the opposite. In a meta-analysis of seven samples of university students and crowdsourced adults (Study 3; N = 1,897), two thirds reported friends-first initiation, and friends-first initiation was the preferred method of initiation among university students (Study 4). These studies affirm that friends-first initiation is a prevalent and preferred method of romantic relationship initiation that has been overlooked by relationship science. We discuss possible reasons for this oversight and consider the implications for dominant theories of relationship initiation.
... [3][4][5] In this environment, the term hooking up emerged to describe sexual behaviors between people encompassing a wide range of sexual activities--from passionate kissing to penetration-that take place outside of a relationship with defined commitment and/or an intended future. 6 Online dating is a popular vehicle for initiating numerous different kinds of sexual relationships. Tinder is the most widely used dating app with more than 50 million users, 7 and it has been downloaded more than 400 million times 8 since its launch in 2012. ...
Article
Research on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on communication on Tinder is presented in this article. This research examines reported changes in communication about sex and health during COVID-19 and the potential implications of those changes on hookup culture and sexual health communication beyond the pandemic. Data from 29 in-depth qualitative interviews with 20 female and 9 male college students are reported. Results include discussion of how college students are managing uncertainty, particularly uncertainty about health status, changes in communication and information-seeking strategies, different COVID-19 safety measures they have employed, and the future impact on communication about sexual health post-COVID-19. Participants in this study use uncertainty reduction communication strategies to gauge whether the risks of remaining on Tinder or meeting in person are worth the benefit. Results show that the quality and quantity of communication around first time in-person meetings have been modified, as the traditional public spaces for meeting have been reduced or eliminated and replaced by private spaces. Participants stated that they communicate more frequently and more directly about health, sexual health, and infection transmission. Finally, results indicate that participants have a strong desire to be more cautious and cognizant of health and safety in the future by using some of the communication strategies they developed during COVID-19.
... Ils rapportent également de grandes préoccupations envers leur apparence physique et leur attrait sexuel (Cash et al., 2004), des conduites propres au surinvestissement de l'apparence sexualisée. Les individus manifestant un degré plus élevé d'évitement de l'intimité se montrent plus enclins à entretenir une sexualité sans engagement (concept connexe au faible sens intime accordé à la sexualité) par des relations du type Friends with benefits, ce qui leur permettrait d'éviter de s'engager (Bisson & Levine, 2009). Ils regardent davantage de pornographie (Szymanski & Stewart-Richardson, 2014), une activité connexe à la sexualité axée sur la performance elle-même liée à un faible degré d'engagement, à l'infidélité et à un nombre élevé de partenaires d'un soir (Lambert et al., 2012). ...
Article
Full-text available
Les changements socioculturels des dernières décennies ont transformé la façon dont les jeunes adultes s’engagent dans leurs relations amoureuses. Des études ont révélé des liens entre l’attachement amoureux et l'engagement conjugal. Pourtant, les mécanismes explicatifs de ces liens demeurent fragmentaires. La présente étude explore le rôle médiateur des conduites sursexualisées dans les liens unissant l’attachement amoureux et l’engagement conjugal des adultes de 18 à 30 ans. Pour ce faire, 722 jeunes adultes québécois en couple ont complété des questionnaires en ligne. Les résultats révèlent que l’anxiété d’abandon est liée directement et positivement au surengagement et au sous-engagement conjugal en plus d’être liée indirectement au surengagement par le biais de l’objectification sexuelle et de la sexualité axée sur la performance. Par ailleurs, l’évitement de l’intimité est lié directement et négativement à l’engagement optimal et positivement au sous-engagement conjugal tout en étant lié indirectement à ces deux modes d’engagement par le biais d’une attitude séductrice et d’un faible sens intime accordé à la sexualité. Ces résultats soulignent la contribution des conduites sursexualisées pour comprendre les liens entre les insécurités d’attachement et les difficultés d’engagement des jeunes adultes.
... Considering the other types of relationships such as a friend with benefits, these comprise physical intimacy, the passion that can be lived briefly or for short periods of time, and with low commitment. The study by Bisson and Levine [24] presented similar results when it referred to friends with benefits, given that the relationship has levels of passion consistent with romantic relationships, but lacks the characteristic commitment of these relationships. ...
Article
Full-text available
Adolescence is a period of great changes and the assumption of risk behaviours at the level of sexuality may have implications for health and well-being. Nowadays, adolescents live free from constraints and prioritise freedom, using their own terminology to label their relationships, it becoming in turn important to conceptualise intimacy relationships from their perspective. Therefore, a qualitative, descriptive, and exploratory study was performed. Participants included 109 adolescents aged 14 and 18 years old from public schools in central Portugal. Data were collected using 12 focus groups and a content analysis was undertaken. These terms attributed to intimate relationships by adolescents are, for the most part, mutual for both genders: crush, friendzone, friends with benefits, making out, dating, and similar in terms of meaning. In an intimate relationship, adolescents give priority to factors such as respect, trust, and love. The fear of loneliness, obsession, and low self-esteem are reasons pointed out by adolescents for maintaining an unhealthy intimate relationship. Adolescents’ knowledge of language about their intimate relationships is essential to establish effective communication and to build intervention programs in the healthy intimacy relationships field.
... According to the Triangular Theory of Love (Sternberg, 1986), frequent touch is the characteristic of early stages of romantic relationships, and a recent study showed that it positively predicts one's reproductive success . Although this line of thinking is most important in the case of affective touch within couples, studies show that there is a high likelihood that friends become romantically (or physically) involved (Barelds & Barelds-Dijkstra, 2007 ;Bisson & Levine, 2009), which extends this hypothesis also to opposite-sex friendships. ...
Article
Full-text available
Interpersonal touch behavior differs across cultures, yet no study to date has systematically tested for cultural variation in affective touch, nor examined the factors that might account for this variability. Here, over 14,000 individuals from 45 countries were asked whether they embraced, stroked, kissed, or hugged their partner, friends, and youngest child during the week preceding the study. We then examined a range of hypothesized individual-level factors (sex, age, parasitic history, conservatism, religiosity, and preferred interpersonal distance) and cultural-level factors (regional temperature, parasite stress, regional conservatism, collectivism, and religiosity) in predicting these affective-touching behaviors. Our results indicate that affective touch was most prevalent in relationships with partners and children, and its diversity was relatively higher in warmer, less conservative, and religious countries, and among younger, female, and liberal people. This research allows for a broad and integrated view of the bases of cross-cultural variability in affective touch.
Chapter
Although much research on the nonverbal expression of emotion forefronts one’s use of the face to send messages, many of the most significant emotional experiences result from—or are related to—the use of touch. The haptic interactions that emerge in early contact between strangers can quickly change the tenor of a relationship, while the use of touch between established interpersonal connections can communicate openness, affection, inclusion, and interest in ways unlike any other nonverbal codes. At the same time, communication of threat or negative emotions like anger are perhaps most effectively demonstrated through negative forms of touch, while an expression of sympathy like a warm embrace might provide unparalleled comfort to a grieving friend. This chapter describes not only the structural forms of touch that emerge across a variety of relationships but also the functional expressions of touch, exploring the emotional expression and affective experience of both parties sending and/or receiving touch. In addition, the use of Expectancy Violation Theory provides insight to the potential impact of touch on established and novel relationships and the haptic interactions that emerge across a variety of contexts.
Article
Full-text available
Exploring the Influence of Personality Traits and Emotional Intelligence on Job Satisfaction and Psychological Wellbeing among Primary School Teachers was the aim of this study. This study addresses the significant but under-researched issue of how personality traits and emotional intelligence impact the job satisfaction and psychological well-being of primary school teachers. Specifically, to address this issue, it was conducted a comprehensive examination involving 218 school teachers (103 female and 115 male) from various government and private schools located in Sangla Hill, Punjab. This study was conducted through a combination of instruments, including a Demographic form, the International Personality item Pool scale, the trait emotional intelligence questionnaire, Job Satisfaction scale, and the Psychological Wellbeing scale. Descriptive and inferential statistics, T-tests, and regression analysis and t-test were used to calculate the results this study. The findings of study revealed that both personality traits and emotional intelligence significantly influence the job satisfaction and psychological wellbeing of school teachers. In the concluding section, we discuss the implications, offer recommendations, and acknowledge the limitations of this study.
Chapter
Chapter 3 covers the nonverbal cues (appearance and behaviors) associated with people’s non-clinical sexual orientations. Part 1 deals with terms/labels and methodological caveats, and also provides descriptions of the major sexual orientations. Part 2 addresses—and hopefully answers—legitimate concerns that have been raised about investigating and reporting nonverbal markers of various sexual orientations (i.e., gaydar research). Coverage of general nonverbal cues to men’s and women’s sexual orientation follows part 2 (part 3). In keeping with the modern lens approach of this book, nonverbal cues linked to asexuality, ambiphilia, and androphilia and gynephilia in men and women are discussed in part 4.
Article
Full-text available
The period of youth represents a milestone for sexual transitions, including casual practices. However, having erotic experiences does not presume competence in seeking casual sex (CS), and having a repertoire that is not socially competent for casual sex (CS) can lead to sexual risks. Accordingly, this study constructed and generated evidence of validity for a measure of social skills (SS) related to CS. Initially, 48 items were constructed and applied to a valid sample of 571 heterosexual, cisgender and single young people. Exploratory Factor Analysis was performed, the initial items were reduced to 18 and divided into two factors: Direct Sociosexual Skills, with 11 items (a = .81 and ω = .81), and Indirect Sociosexual Skills, with seven items (a = .67 and ω = .67). This instrument could contribute to the promotion of sexual health, as a more elaborate SS repertoire would be related to lower rates of abuse, sexually transmitted infections and harassment.
Chapter
Why do people fall in love? Does passion fade with time? What makes for a happy, healthy relationship? This introduction to relationship science follows the lifecycle of a relationship – from attraction and initiation, to the hard work of relationship maintenance, to dissolution and ways to strengthen a relationship. Designed for advanced undergraduates studying psychology, communication or family studies, this textbook presents a fresh, diversity-infused approach to relationship science. It includes real-world examples and critical-thinking questions, callout boxes that challenge students to make connections, and researcher interviews that showcase the many career paths of relationship scientists. Article Spotlights reveal cutting-edge methods, while Diversity and Inclusion boxes celebrate the variety found in human love and connection. Throughout the book, students see the application of theory and come to recognize universal themes in relationships as well as the nuances of many findings. Instructors can access lecture slides, an instructor manual, and test banks.
Article
Full-text available
Despite the prevalence of frenemy references in popular culture and the significant impacts these relationships invariably can have on our lives, frenemy scholarship is limited, contradictory, and often used synonymously with ambivalent relationships. This study draws from 29 interviews to develop an empirical definition of the term frenemy. Results illustrate that study participants conceptualize the term as a relationship, often negative, steeped in situational ties and shared social connections that outwardly appears friendly, but is fraught with underlying competition, jealousy, or distrust. This study offers a more nuanced and refined definition of the term and suggests that frenemy is distinct from and should not be conflated with ambivalent relationships. Articulating and exploring frenemy dynamics provides insight into the development and enactment of these relationships.
Article
Research on hookups established that they are facilitated by alcohol consumption, interpreted as meaningless fun, and couched in ambiguous communication to avoid intimacy. In the United States, hookup culture is associated with a life course stage called “emerging adulthood.” This stage allows college students to suspend longer term relationships, parenthood, and the dictates of domesticity that will organize normative adult lives while establishing the careers that will help fund such goals. Hookups allow a mode of sexual engagement that buffers them from the burdens of serious intimacy and normative life course milestones. Scholars examined how the hookup scripts differ for queer hookups and the centrality of heternormativity in the enactment of hookup culture (e.g., Lamont et al. 2018). Less has been said about differences between straight and queer hookups from a life course perspective; this paper takes up this perspective, drawing on 28 interviews with queer participants about their college hookups. Participants' expectations about post‐college intimacy, love, and sex are less fixed, and they are therefore open to more expansive possibilities of intimacy in college than their straight peers. By taking a life course perspective, this paper shows how queer temporalities reveal and challenge the heteronormativity that governs hookup culture.
Article
Full-text available
This paper was as goal to know the relation between Sexting self-revealed by 1,364 high school students from Colombia and the Routine Activities Theory. The Sexting and Routine Activities scales are reliable (Alpha> 0.80) and valid, according to the judge of experts. The construct validity of the Sexting scale was determined through Exploratory Factorial Analysis, we found two factors that jointly explain 78.196% of the variance, called Sexting behaviors and Sexting consequences. The results showed that, at least once, students have sent or forwarded (15%) or received (24.8%) photos or videos with explicit sexual content. 29.4% of the young people exhibited Sexting behaviors. Women have a greater tendency to Sexting and the probability of participating in this behavior increases as their degree of study increases. Finally, the binary logistic regression showed that the online adequate objective dimension of the Routine Activities Theory, predicts both Behaviors and Consequences of Sexting, increasing the probability of their occurrence. To prevent Sexting, young people should be made aware of the risks of establishing friendships with strangers through the Internet, posting photos or videos or saving personal information on their cell phone or tablet, indicators of the predictor variable.
Article
Full-text available
Often viewed as right of passage in emerging adulthood on college campuses, most undergraduate students participate in casual sex during their undergraduate career. Sexual exploration typically continues during study abroad programs; however, these programs have previously been associated with an increase in risky sexual behavior due to a lack of familiar social norms and community. The current study examined the casual sexual relationships of 302 undergraduates participating in Semester at Sea, an eleven country, 106-day voyage which incorporates aspects of a traditional college campus combined with the novel experience of studying abroad. The purpose of this research was to explore students’ casual sexual relationship perceptions and behaviors in the context of a structured and community-oriented study abroad environment. Over half (52%) of the student population completed a series of open-ended questions regarding their uncommitted sexual activity during the Semester at Sea voyage. Results indicated that 16.9% of students engaged in at least one casual sexual relationship over the course of the trip. Casual sex relationships on-board the Semester at Sea voyage were less prevalent than those on traditional college campuses, but casual sex relationships at sea appeared to focus more on the importance of communication and boundaries during the sexual relationship and concluded on a more positive note. It is likely that these decisions were influenced by the established communal culture on-board the ship, which encouraged students to maintain harmonious social relationships and a high level of awareness of others.
Article
A bstract Objective The present study expands scholarship on collegiate relationship formation by exploring heterosexual Black HBCU women's romantic aspirations for identity formation. Background Collegiate environments structure sex and dating. However, extant research has not adequately considered how racialization matters for gendered relationship formation in these contexts and has yet to establish how racial, gender, and class identity formation and performance converge to structure Black college women's relational desires and opportunities. Method The study uses 30 in‐depth interviews with cisgender, heterosexual Black women at an HBCU to investigate their romantic and sexual experiences and expectations. Results HBCU women's romantic aspirations were organized by their race, gender, and aspirant class locations. They identified committed, monogamous, equitable relationships with similarly situated Black men as a relational ideal. Nonetheless, women expressed barriers to obtaining this relationship structure within their campus landscape and sought to otherwise negotiate romantic opportunities in accordance with respectable middle‐class Black feminine identities. Conclusion HBCU women's characterizations of ideal partnerships revealed the ways existing race, class, and gender structures are simultaneously accepted, reified, and problematized in Black women's identity negotiation through collegiate romance. Though HBCUs seem ideal for satisfactory sexual and romantic connections for Black middle‐class aspirant women, inequities on and off‐campus and rigid standards for respectability leave women with limited opportunities to obtain all they desire.
Article
Back burners are prospective romantic and/or sexual partners with whom one communicates, often using digital communication channels, for purposes of potentially developing a sexual and/or romantic relationship. The current study explores the consequences of back burner communication on relationship commitment and personal stress. Moreover, early back burner studies relied primarily on college student samples; it is unknown whether these findings generalize to older adults. We examined the relationships among digital communication with back burners, relationship commitment, and stress, using a sample of non-collegiate adults (N = 263). Consistent with earlier research, the majority reported having at least one back burner. Also, number of back burners correlated negatively with commitment. However, only number of back burners predicted commitment when considered alongside frequency of sexual communication and frequency of stating one’s future intentions. Social media infidelity-related behaviors mediated the relationship between number of back burners and stress. Findings have implications for relational and personal well-being.
Article
Full-text available
This article features a review of communication scholarship about sex from the past two decades (2000-2020). A typographic analysis of relevant research reveals 11 primary topic areas related to how interpersonal sexual communication is commonly researched in communication studies. Six of these topic areas are relationship-oriented in nature: flirting and initiation; pleasure and desire; sexual expectations; relational and sexual satisfaction; communication after sex; and negative aspects of sex and sexuality. Three of the topics are health-oriented in nature: sex education, especially in consideration of how parent-child talk happens in families; negotiation of safe sex practices; and sexual dysfunction. Finally, two of the topics are cultural in nature: social factors and influences; and media influences and representations. Scholarship is also reviewed in terms of theoretical commitments, with most research following sociopsychological or critical traditions but with a noteworthy number also embracing sociocultural or biological paradigms. Based on these observations, five directions are offered for future research: supporting programs of interpersonal sex research; advancing and/or creating methods related to communication sex research; eliminating heteronormativity; considering the practical aspects of sex research; and, perhaps most importantly, theorizing sex as communication.
Article
Full-text available
One of the most prominent features of the current college campus environment is the casual sex practice of the hookup. Hookups are defined as a sexual encounter between two people who are brief acquaintances or strangers, usually lasting only one night without the expectation of developing a relationship (Paul, McManus, & Hayes, 2000). Although there is a vast literature on college students' casual sexual attitudes and behavior, there is little attention to (a) subjective or experiential elements of and (b) the heterogeneity of casual sexual experiences. The goal of this study was to explore the varied phenomenology or experiential reality of college students' casual sexual hookup experiences. A structured questionnaire soliciting open responses regarding college students' views of a typical hookup and reports of their best and worst hookup experiences was administered to 187 college students. Responses were microanalytically content analyzed and globally thematically analyzed. College students' accounts of hookup experiences included behavioral, situational, cognitive, and emotional elements. As expected, although there was relative uniformity in college students' descriptions of a typical hookup, there was wide variation in college students' descriptions of their best and worst hookup experiences. Moreover, whereas there were few differences between males' and females' descriptions of what transpired, there were some sex differences in descriptions of what was felt after actual casual sexual experiences and in interpretations of why experiences were good or bad.
Article
Full-text available
This study investigated attraction in heterosexual cross-sex friendships. Study I used in-depth interviews with 20 dyads (40 participants) to uncover four types of attraction that occur in cross-sex friendships - subjective physical/sexual attraction, objective physical/sexual attraction, romantic attraction, and friendship attraction. These types of attraction are subject to being symmetrical or asymmetrical, and may incur changes over time. Study 11 (N = 231) used a questionnaire to assess the frequency of each type of attraction and the frequency with which types of attraction are perceived to change. The most prevalent form of attraction was friendship attraction, and the least prevalent form was romantic attraction. The implications of these results for understanding both cross-sex friendships and the process of attraction are discussed.
Article
Full-text available
Research on cross-sex friendships has noted the presence of sexual tension in many of these relationships. Yet, to our knowledge, no studies have directly examined the frequency and effect of sexual contact on friendships. This investigation provides an initial look at the prevalence of sexual activity in otherwise `platonic' cross-sex friendships and applies a recently developed model of expectation violations to understand the related consequences of that behavior. Results suggest that approximately half the heterosexual college student population has engaged in sexual activity in an otherwise platonic cross-sex friendship and that the aversive uncertainty within valence model of expectation violations serves as a good framework from which to understand the associated relational outcomes. The findings' implications for research on cross-sex friendships are discussed.
Article
Full-text available
This research investigated the factor structure, reliability and aspects of the construct validity of Sternberg's Triangular Love Scale (TLS). Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the items of the TLS loaded on their designated factors of intimacy, passion and commitment; however, the model fit was poor and the factors were highly correlated. Exploratory factor analysis revealed that numerous items loaded on more than one factor. The subscales had extremely high internal consistencies and adequate 2-month test-retest reliabilities. Scores on all three subscales were related to relationship exclusivity and survival over the 2-month period, but only commitment and passion were related to expectancy for relationship survival. Implications and limitations of the research are discussed.
Article
Full-text available
This study is placed within a dialectic framework, illustrating the contradictory needs that exist for relationship openness and closedness. It explores one type of closedness in close relationships - the `taboo topic'. Ninety ethnographic interviews solicited informant accounts of topics which were `off limits' in the context of an opposite-sex relationship in which they were involved. Results indicated that there were six primary types of `taboo topics': the state of the relationship, extra-relationship activity, relationship norms, prior relationships with opposite-sex parties, conflict-inducing topics, and negatively-valenced self-disclosures. Of these topic categories, the state of the relationship was the most pervasive as a `taboo'. In an analysis of the reasons why topics were `taboo', it was apparent that the informants held a negative vision of relationship talk as destructive, inefficient, futile and risky. Extra-relationship activity, relationship norms, prior relationships, and conflict-inducing topics were avoided largely because of the negative relational metacommunication implicit in those topic categories. The findings are discussed in terms of metacommunication and uncertainty reduction.
Article
Full-text available
Predictions derived from Sternberg's (1986) Triangular Theory of Love were tested. Two-hundred- and-four adults completed questionnaires assessing several constructs, including each of the three components of the theory: intimacy, passion and commitment. Results indicated mixed support for the Triangular Theory. As expected, self-reported levels of commitment were higher for the respondents in more serious (i.e. married vs unmarried) relationships. The predicted decline over time in passion emerged only for females, and intimacy levels did not generally display the predicted decline for longer relationships. Commitment was the most powerful and consistent predictor of relationship satisfaction, especially for the longest relationships. Other results indicated a need for more psychometrically sound measures of these constructs, and the desirability of using adult, non-student samples for investigations of romantic love.
Article
Full-text available
The present investigation examined the degree to which various characteristics are desired in five types of relational partners. Men and women (N = 700) indicated their preferences for several attributes in either a casual sex partner, dating partner, marriage partner, same-sex friend, or opposite-sex friend (randomly assigned). Participants also indicated how important it was to obtain a partner with the desired level of each attribute. Although participants most preferred warmth and kindness, expressivity and openness, and a good sense of humor across relationship types, they clearly distinguished between romantic/sexual relationships and friendships. Specifically, participants preferred (and felt that it was more important to obtain) higher levels of many desirable characteristics - including physical attractiveness, social status attributes, and disposition or personality traits (e.g., warmth, expressiveness, humor, intelligence) - in a romantic/sexual partner than in a friend. Participants also differentiated between same-sex and opposite-sex friend- ships. In general, they preferred higher levels of and/or believed it was more important to obtain physical attractive- ness, social status, and dispositional/personality attributes from opposite-sex friends than from same-sex friends. To at least some degree, men's preferences were associated with the number of others they believed were available for a particular type of relationship; women's preferences generally were associated with perceptions of their own desirability as a partner.
Article
Full-text available
Same- and cross-sex friendships of 156 professional men and women were investigated using a self-report questionnaire consisting of rating scales and open-ended questions. Results indicated that while both sexes viewed the characteristics of an ideal friendship in similar ways, their actual experiences of friendships differed. Women's same-sex friendships were rated higher for overall quality, intimacy, enjoyment and nurturance. Men, on the other hand, rated their cross-sex friendships higher in these areas, with the exception of intimacy which was rated the same by men in both same- and cross-sex friendships. Cross-sex friendships provided both sexes with new understandings and perspectives of the opposite sex. Both sexes generally kept their friendships and sexual relationships separate though sexual feelings and tensions still existed in many cross-sex friendships. These results are similar to findings from studies with college students, indicating that women's participation in professional roles has not resulted in dramatic changes in friendship patterns. Gender differences in same- and cross-sex friendships remain strong, despite new career roles for women.
Article
Full-text available
Study 1 identified a 3-dimensional latent structure of the prototype of love, based on factor analyzing centrality ratings of 68 prototypical features of love identified by B. Fehr (see record 1989-04996-001); we labeled these Passion, Intimacy, and Commitment. Studies 2 and 3 cross-validated this result with new samples. Study 4 showed convergent and discriminant validity of scales based on these dimensions and compared results with the centrality-rating method to an alternative prototype-relevant method. Study 5 found convergent and discriminant validity with a version of R. J. Sternberg's (1988) Triangular Love Scale. Study 5 also obtained the same 3-dimensional structure for both people's concept of love and descriptions of their own love relationships but the emphasis among dimensions corresponded only moderately between concept and descriptions. Study 6 showed correspondences between prototype-feature dimensions and love styles (C. Hendrick & S. Hendrick, see record 73:13421; J. A. Lee, 1977). Study 7 examined a shortened scale for the 3 dimensions and replicated the main results of Study 6 with that scale. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Article
Full-text available
Presents a triangular theory of love, which deals both with the nature of love and with loves in different kinds of relationships. It is suggested that there are 3 components: (a) intimacy encompassing the feelings of closeness, connectedness, and bondedness experienced in loving relationships; (b) passion encompassing the drives that lead to romance, physical attraction, and sexual consummation; and (c) decision/commitment encompassing, in the short term, the decision that one loves another, and in the long term, the commitment to maintain that love. The amount of love one experiences depends on the absolute strength of the 3 components, and the kind of love one experiences depends on their strengths relative to each other. The components interact with each other and with the actions that they produce and that produce them so as to form a number of different kinds of loving experiences. The triangular theory of love subsumes other theories and can account for a number of empirical findings in the research literature, as well as for a number of experiences with which many are familiar firsthand. It is proposed that the triangular theory provides a comprehensive basis for understanding many aspects of the love that underlies close relationships. (53 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Article
Full-text available
This is an empirical investigation into one aspect of the pursuer-distancer pattern in intimate relationships. It explores why many male partners consistently avoid or withdraw from negotiating important issues in these relationships. Results suggest a broad array of potential reasons for this "distancing" having to do with (a) their own personal characteristics, (b) their expectations for certain aversive behaviors by their partners in conflict situations, and (c) further and related expectations that, in their relationships, engaging in disagreements is more likely to prove destructive than constructive. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Article
This essay extends previous work on uncertainty and information seeking within close relationships by considering how relationship parameters correspond with the directness of people's information-seeking strategies. Because we believe that assumptions of uncertainty reduction theory (Berger & Calabrese, 1975) have been translated into the context of close relationships without attention to the unique features of that domain, we begin by reframing questions about uncertainty to reflect issues relevant to intimate associations. In particular, we reconsider the focus of uncertainty, the function of uncertainty reduction, and the nature of information seeking. We then discuss how relationship intimacy, power dynamics, and information expectancies correspond with information-seeking behavior within close relationships. In doing so, we highlight how the negotiation of relational uncertainty may function to sustain intimate associations.
Article
This study focused on a specific risky practice common among contemporary college students: the hookup. Hookups are defined as a sexual encounter which may or may not include sexual intercourse, usually occurring on only one occasion between two people who are strangers or brief acquaintances. The aim of this study was to determine the relative importance of a variety of social and psychological predictors in understanding differences among undergraduate students who had never hooked up, those who had hooked up without sexual intercourse, and those who had hooked up with sexual intercourse. Analyses revealed that, as predicted, social, individual, and relational psychological variables helped to explain the variance among college students' varied hookup experiences. By examining the full range of sexual involvement characteristic of the casual sexual phenomenon of hooking up within a multivariate model, we were able to achieve a more differentiated understanding of college students' casual sexual experimentation.
Article
Friends with benefits relationships (FWBRs) are defined as relationships between cross‐sex friends in which the friends engage in sexual activity but do not define their relationship as romantic. Relationship scholars have only recently begun to examine these relationships, despite their mention in the popular media (e.g., HBO's ‘Sex in the City,’ MTV's ‘True Life,’ ‘Seinfeld,’ and the New York Times). This study explored the relationship between FWBRs and maintenance rules, love attitudes, and network communication and support. Respondents (N = 143) completed self‐report surveys in which they described their FWBRs, their perceived rules for maintenance, perceptions of same‐sex network communication and support, and the current status of their FWBRs. They also completed the short form of the love attitude scale (Hendrick, Hendrick, & Dicke, 199815. Hendrick , C , Hendrick , SS and Dicke , A . (1998). The love attitudes scale: Short form. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 15: 147–159. [CrossRef], [Web of Science ®], [CSA]View all references). The findings suggest that people tend to communicate their FWBR experiences to their same‐sex friends and, in general, receive supportive responses. Although attitudes toward love (e.g., agape) did not impact rules for maintenance of FWBRs, attitudes toward love did influence motivations for FWBRs and the outcomes of these relationships.
Chapter
Competing Paradigms for a Sociology of Intimacy PsychoanalyticSocial ExchangeInteractionistSites of Intimate Relations Dual Earner MarriagesMarital CommunicationConclusion
We’re just good friends: Women and men in nonromantic relationships
  • K J Werking
  • K. J. Werking
Werking, K. J. (1997). We're just good friends: Women and men in nonromantic relationships. New York: Guilford.
Friends with benefits: Initial explorations of sexual, non-romantic, relationships. Unpublished manuscript
  • P A Mongeau
  • A Ramirez
  • M Vorell
Mongeau, P. A., Ramirez, A., & Vorell, M. (2003). Friends with benefits: Initial explorations of sexual, non-romantic, relationships. Unpublished manuscript, Arizona State University at Tempe.
The triangle of love: Intimacy, passion, commitment
  • R J Sternberg
  • R. J. Sternberg
Sternberg, R. J. (1987). The triangle of love: Intimacy, passion, commitment. New York: Basic Books.
The triangle of love
  • R J Sternberg
  • R. J. Sternberg
Sternberg, R. J. (1988). The triangle of love. New York: Basic Books.
Why do men distance? Factors predictive of male avoidance of intimate conflict
  • R J Sternberg
Sternberg, R. J. (1988). The triangle of love. New York: Basic Books. Ward, C. A., & Kahn, J. H. (2003). Why do men distance? Factors predictive of male avoidance of intimate conflict. Family Therapy, 30, 1-11.
Why do men distance? Factors predictive of male avoidance of intimate conflict
  • C A Ward
  • J H Kahn
  • C. A. Ward