Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine whether the developmental features of emerging adulthood were associated with willingness to engage in consensually nonmonogamous (CNM) relationships. All participants (N = 792) were English speaking emerging adults (ages 18–25) residing in the USA. About half were attending college, whereas the other half had no college experience. After controlling for a number of variables (i.e., college status, sex/gender, sexual orientation, sexual identity exploration, sexual identity commitment, and casual sex attitudes), greater perceptions of emerging adulthood as a time of identity exploration and feeling in between were negatively associated with willingness to engage in CNM relationships. Also, greater perceptions of emerging adulthood as a time of experimentation/possibilities was positively associated with willingness to engage in CNM. Although our final model explained 33.5% of the variance in willingness to engage in CNM relationships, perceptions of the developmental features of emerging adulthood accounted for just 4.2% of the variance explained. Future research on CNM relationships and relationship education for emerging adults are discussed.
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Olmstead, S.B., Anders, K.M. Are the Developmental Features of Emerging Adulthood Associated with Willingness to Engage in Consensually Nonmonogamous Relationships?. Arch Sex Behav 51, 1813–1822 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-021-02258-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-021-02258-4