Abstract
Consensual non-monogamy (CNM) is a non-normative relationship that can generally be defined as relationships in which the involved individuals have openly agreed that they can have other sexual and/or affective partners. Despite growing interest in CNM, little research has been conducted regarding characteristics of the involved individuals, as well as comparing CNM individuals and monogamous individuals’ characteristics. Expanding this research is important, as CNM constitutes a sizeable minority group, and CNM individuals and relationships are subject to stigma and dehumanization. The present study compared CNM and monogamous individuals in terms of personality (including “dark” personality) and mating orientations (sociosexuality and long-term mating) in young Spanish university students. Main results indicated that CNM individuals did not differ much in personality nor were they prone to higher “dark” personality traits when compared to monogamous individuals. Regarding mating orientations, CNM individuals were prone to higher sociosexuality levels and lower levels of long-term mating. Interestingly, results showed positive correlations between sociosexuality and “dark” personality in monogamous individuals, but not in CNM individuals. In conclusion, young Spanish university CNM individuals seem to be more pro-sex than monogamous people and less committed to the romantic love narrative of long-term mating, but these individuals were not more untrustworthy, self-centered, ruthless, or malevolent. Results were also discussed regarding their implications in the stigma and dehumanization of CNM people.
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The open database and code files for these analyses are available at the Open Science Framework repository (https://osf.io/3nxv4/).
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Funding
This work was funded by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, Government of Spain, under grant PGC2018-097086-A-I00; and by the Government of Aragón (research group S31_20D). Department of Innovation, Research and University and FEDER 2014–2020, “Building Europe from Aragón.”
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de Rivas, S., Lecuona, Ó., Castro, Á. et al. Personality and Mating Orientations in Monogamy and Consensual Non-Monogamy in Young Spanish University Students. Arch Sex Behav 52, 1785–1798 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-022-02483-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-022-02483-5