Although most cultures promote monogamy, some men wonder if it’s possible to have a healthy open relationship. New research indicates that although the concept is certainly not feasible for everyone, it is possible to have an open relationship under the right conditions.
The key to healthy open relationships
New research from the University of Rochester indicates that there are three attributes that are vital to ensure non-monogamy can work: communication, mutual consent and comfort.
Referred to as the Triple C model, the conditions help ensure that the relationship has the best chance of avoiding or overcoming feelings of jealousy, vulnerability and mistrust.
For mutual consent, both partners must be in agreement about not only sexual exclusivity but also emotional exclusivity. In addition, there needs to be a clear understanding if other types of sexual partners would be allowed. For example, if a man in a relationship with a woman is allowed to engage in intercourse with another man.
With communication, it may be about negotiating rules and discussing the emotional aspects of the relationship.
“We know that communication is helpful to all couples,” says Ronald D. Rogge, Ph.D., an associate professor of psychology who served as the senior study author. “However, communication is critical for couples in non-monogamous relationships as they navigate the extra challenges of maintaining a nontraditional relationship in a monogamy-dominated culture.”
Finally, with comfort, a question may be whether both partners feel that are being forced to have an open relationship even though one of them may want to be monogamous.
Studying open relationships
For the study, researchers looked at a variety of types of relationships and found that both monogamous and non-monogamous “couples” were capable of having a healthy relationship. It was only when consent for non-monogamy was lacking that the researchers saw a high proportion of people feeling dissatisfied with their relationships.
The study was published in The Journal of Sex Research.
