Swingers may regard the practice as a recreational or social activity[5][6] that adds variety or excitement into their otherwise conventional sex lives or for curiosity.
[9] Polyamory is the practice, desire, or acceptance of having more than one intimate relationship at a time with the knowledge and consent of everyone involved.
[3] The terms "polyamory" and "friends with benefits" are fairly recent, having come about within the past few decades[10] though the concept is as old as society.
Some believe that open relationships occur more frequently in certain demographics, such as the young rather than the old in America, including, more specifically, the college-educated middle-class rather than the uneducated working-class, or people of certain ethnic and/or other racial minorities.
[14][15] Many couples within open relationships are dual-career, meaning that both primary partners have a stable job and/or a career.
These include:[citation needed] “It has been proposed that men (both gay and straight), in contrast to women, are able to cognitively separate sex from emotions (or love) in a process commonly termed compartmentalization.
[10] Results of some studies have suggested that jealousy remains a problem in open relationships because the actual involvement of a third party is seen as a trigger.
Films, media, and self-help books present the message that to desire more than one partner means not having a "true" relationship.
[27] Desiring an open relationship in these days often claimed to be a phase that a person is passing through before being ready to "settle down".
[3] The logistics of an open relationship may be difficult to cope with, especially if the partners reside together, split finances, own property, or parent children.
Neither barrier device use (such as condoms) nor more vigilant STI testing and vaccination can fully eliminate such risk,[28] but can reduce the statistical increase attributable to nonmonogamy.
Nevertheless, using data from the 2012 National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior, Levine et al. (2018) found that individuals in open relationships reported more condom use in both vaginal and anal intercourse compared to monogamous couples.
The style of the open relationship will mirror the parties' involved values, goals, desires, needs and philosophies.
By taking the time to develop a clear idea of what both partners want out of the openness of a relationship, it allows the parties involved to self-reflect, process their emotions, deal with possible conflicts, and (for those transitioning from monogamy to nonmonogamy) find ways to cope with the change.
Topics that are commonly found in negotiations between couples include honesty, the level of maintenance, trust, boundaries and time management.
[30] Published 1974, a national study of sexuality conducted by Hunt found that relatively few people engage in swinging.
Hunt attributed the low number of people in these open marriages to various social, psychological, and practical problems.
Yet, some of these people "confirmed what the advocates and enthusiasts have claimed—namely, that marital swinging can provide physically intense experiences, that it can be immensely ego-gratifying and that it is a temporary release from confinement and responsibility and a brief chance to live out one's wildest fantasies" (pages 273–274).
A study conducted by Wolf found that 76 percent of couples in open marriages described the quality of their relationships as "better than average" or "outstanding".
[36] Dixon found similarly high levels of marital satisfaction in a study of 100 bisexual and heterosexual husbands in open marriages.
Bergstrand and Williams collected online questionnaires from 1092 people involved in swinging style open marriages.
In a five-year study of bisexuals, 80 percent of whom initially had open relationships, Martin Weinberg, Colin J. Williams, and Douglas Pryor observed a definite shift towards sexual monogamy over time.
[40] When first interviewed, a majority of these bisexuals preferred sexual non-monogamy as their ideal form of romantic relationships.
Studies have shown that 80 percent or more of couples in open marriages experience jealousy over their extramarital relationships.
Numerous authors have argued that open marriages disrupt relationships by interfering with intimacy and provoking insecurities.