bims-chumac 2021-06-20 papers

Issue of 2021–06–20
five papers selected by
Thomas Krichel, Open Library Society

Arch Sex Behav. 2021 May;50(4): 1521-1536

Consensual Non-Monogamy Among Kink-Identified Adults: Characteristics, Relationship Experiences, and Unique Motivations for Polyamory and Open Relationships.

Ellora Vilkin, Richard Sprott.

People who engage in both kink and consensual non-monogamy (CNM) have received little attention in research. The present article reports on the characteristics, relationship experiences, and unique motivations for engaging in CNM of kinky and consensually non-monogamous individuals using data from two U.S. samples-one large, national (N = 690) quantitative survey, and one qualitative study (N = 70) of adults in Northern California. The results describe the prevalence of universal (e.g., jealousy, sexual desire discrepancy) and population-specific relationship experiences (e.g., kink interest discrepancy, "coming out" about relationship structure). Findings indicate that discrepancies in desire for kink are a common relationship experience for kink-CNM individuals and that managing kink interests is an important motivation for CNM in this particular population. Implications for future research and clinical practice with kinky and consensually non-monogamous individuals are discussed.

Keywords: BDSM; Consensual non-monogamy; Intimacy; Kink; Sexuality

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-021-02004-w

J Am Coll Health. 2021 Jun 16. 1-9

Influence of social media on how college students perceive healthy relationships and consent.

Adrienne Baldwin-White, Katherine Gower.

Because of the high rates of sexual assault on college campuses, it is important to examine factors that influence perceptions of healthy relationships and consent, including social media. Because college students are heavy users of social media, it is imperative to consider how social media can influence their participation in risky behavior, including the attitudes and norms around sex and relationships. Participants: Undergraduate college students were recruited to participate in a study that sought to understand how college students navigate romantic and sexual relationships. Methods: Participants (N = 392) completed a survey that assessed social media use, and how they perceived healthy relationship behavior and consent. Results: Results showed social media had more of an influence on perceptions of healthy relationships. However, the influence of social media on consent and healthy relationships is inconsistent across platforms; emphasizing the need for further research.

Keywords: Campus sexual assault; consent; healthy relationship behavior; social media

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2021.1927049

Womens Health Issues. 2021 Jun 11. pii: S1049-3867(21)00053-0. [Epub ahead of print]

The Timing of Obesity Matters: Associations Between Current Versus Chronic Obesity since Adolescence and Romantic Relationship Satisfaction Among Young Adult Women.

Aletha Y Akers, Jennifer Harding.

BACKGROUND: Although the social consequences of obesity for women are well-documented, its stigmatizing effect on romantic relationships across the life course has seldom been explored. We examined whether having current or chronic obesity since adolescence is associated with romantic relationship satisfaction among women in early adulthood.
METHODS: This is a secondary analysis of data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Female participants completing waves I and IV who self-reported their height and weight and were in a marital or cohabitating relationship at wave IV were included. Relationship satisfaction was assessed using a seven-item measure. Body mass index BMI at wave IV was categorized as normal weight, overweight, obesity, or chronic obesity (at waves I and IV). The odds of reporting low relationship satisfaction were estimated across body mass index categories using multivariate regression that controlled for key covariates (age, race, ethnicity, education, income, lifetime partners, relationship duration, and depression) and accounted for the complex sampling design.
RESULTS: Among the 3,582 respondents, 74.8% were White, 65.5% had less than a college degree, and 61.8% were in their relationship for more than 3 years. At wave IV, 38.2% had a normal body mass index, 27.7% had overweight, 26.7% had obesity, and 7.5% had chronic obesity. Only having chronic obesity was associated with relationship satisfaction in early adulthood. Women with chronic obesity had 1.44 (95% confidence interval, 1.03-2.02) times the odds of reporting low relationship satisfaction compared with those categorized as normal weight.
CONCLUSIONS: Chronic obesity since adolescence is associated with poor romantic relationship satisfaction in early adulthood.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.whi.2021.05.001

Ecol Evol. 2021 Jun;11(11): 6326-6340

More than just noise: Chance, mating success, and sexual selection.

Hope Klug, Libby Stone.

Chance plays a critical but underappreciated role in determining mating success. In many cases, we tend to think of chance as background noise that can be ignored in studies of mating dynamics. When the influence of chance is consistent across contexts, chance can be thought of as background noise; in other cases, however, the impact of chance on mating success can influence our understanding of how mates are acquired and how sexual selection operates. In particular, when the importance of chance covaries with biological or ecological factors in a systematic manner-that is, when chance becomes consistently more or less important under certain conditions-then chance is important to consider if we want to fully understand the operation of mate acquisition and sexual selection. Here, we present a model that explores how chance covaries with factors such as sex ratio, adult population size, and mating regime in determining variation in mating success. We find that in some cases, chance covaries with adult population size and the operational sex ratio to create variation in mating success. We discuss how chance can influence our more general understanding of the operation of mating dynamics and sexual selection.

Keywords: chance; mate competition; mate limitation; operational sex ratio; population size; sexual selection

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7484

J Pastoral Care Counsel. 2021 Jun;75(2): 126-132

Shared Christian Religious Identity, Religiousness, and Marital Satisfaction.

Ryan N Fraser, James H Dalton, Jeremiah W Burkhart, Jared T Collins.

This study investigates whether shared Christian religious identity between spouses, individual/shared religiousness, and satisfaction with that religiousness affects individual and marital satisfaction. Research participants (N = 568) completed psychometric measures to report: individual wellbeing, emotional intimacy as a couple, satisfaction with sexual intimacy as a couple, and overall marital satisfaction. Results indicated shared religious identity was correlated with higher marital satisfaction. Generally, higher levels of religiousness were correlated with higher scores on the outcome measures. Finally, participants' satisfaction with their individual and shared religiousness was significantly correlated with higher scores on the selected outcome measures.

Keywords: Spirituality; marital satisfaction; marriage; religion; religiousness

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1542305021996229