People are just as happy in open relationships as in monogamous ones
People in open relationships are just as happy as people in couples, according to a new study from the University of Guelph. These are the findings of Jessica Wood, a graduate student in social psychology and author of the study.
“We found that people in non-consensual monogamous relationships had similar levels of relationship satisfaction and overall psychological well-being, which may challenge conventional wisdom about monogamy as the ideal relationship structure,” says Jessica Wood.
In this type of relationship, all partners agree to the possibility of multiple sexual and romantic relationships with each other. Today in North America, between 3% and 7% of people are in such relationships.
“But this type of relationship is often considered immoral or simply unsatisfying,” Jessica comments.
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Sexologist, psychiatrist and psychotherapist of the highest category. I have been working as a sexologist for more than 10 years. I help couples overcome their sexual problems. Canadian.
She surveyed 140 people in open relationships and over 200 people in traditional (monogamous) relationships and compared the results. Monogamous participants answered questions about how satisfied they were with the quality of their current relationship, with the remaining questions asking about their primary partner.
Jessica discovered that relationship satisfaction depends not on the structure of the relationship, but on sexual motivation.
“In both types of relationships, people become intimate with their partners and initiate intimacy to satisfy their sexual needs. If this succeeds, these people feel happy. People who have sex for other reasons are less happy — for example, to avoid confrontation,” she explained.
“Research shows that the choice of relationship structure is not a predictor of how happy you will be in that relationship,” Jessica concluded.
