Research concerning consensual non-monogamy has grown recently but has just begun to determine how relationships amongst partners in consensually non-monogamous arrangements may vary. The current research examines this issue within one type of consensual non-monogamy, specifically polyamory, using a convenience sample of 1, self-identified polyamorous individuals who provided responses to various indices of relationship evaluation e.
Measures were compared between perceptions of two concurrent partners within each polyamorous relationship i. Participants reported less stigma as well as more investment, satisfaction, commitment and greater communication about the relationship with primary compared to secondary relationships, but a greater proportion of time on sexual activity with secondary compared to primary relationships. We discuss how these results inform our understanding of the unique costs and rewards of primary-secondary relationships in polyamory and suggest future directions based on these findings.
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Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. Although the term polyamory indicates permission to engage in sexual or romantic relationships with more than one partner, the nature of these relationships and how individuals approach them can vary from one person partnering with multiple people, to members of a couple dating a third triad , to two couples in a relationship with each other quad , to networks of people involved with each other in various configurations [ 8 β 11 ].
Polyamory includes many different styles of intimate involvements, however, most polyamorous-identified individuals report having two concurrent partners [ 12 ], and one of the most commonly discussed polyamorous relationship configurations is characterized by a distinction between primary and secondary relationships [ 13 β 14 ].
