How Do People Maintain Consensual Non-Monogamy? An International Development and Validation of the Multiple Relationships Maintenance Scale

Authors

• Justin K. Mogilski, University of South Carolina - Salkehatchie
• Geoffrey F. Miller, University of New Mexico
• Peter K. Jonason, Vizja University
• Katarzyna Grunt-Mejer, University SWPS
• Jaroslava Varella Valentova, University of São Paulo
• Rhonda Balzarini, Texas State University - San Marcos
• David L. Rodrigues, Iscte-Instituto Universitário de Lisboa
• Elisabeth Sheff
• Laith Al-Shawaf, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs
• Zsófia Csajbók, Charles University, Prague
• Andrew G. Thomas, Swansea University
• Tamas David-Barrett, University of Oxford
• Cezar Giosan, University of Bucharest
• Daniel J. Kruger, University at Buffalo
• David J. Ley, University of New Mexico
• Justin J. Lehmiller, Indiana University - Bloomington
• Heath A. Schechinger, University of California - Berkeley
• Amy C. Moors, Chapman UniversityFollow
• Stefano Ciaffoni, Chapman University
• Leif Edward Ottesen Kennair, Norwegian University of Science and Technology
• Stephen Whyte, Queensland University of Technology
• Zuzana Štěrbová, Charles University, Prague
• Klára Bártová, Charles University, Prague
• Ryan G. Witherspoon
• Magdalena Żemojtel-Piotrowska, Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw
• Pavol Prokop, Comenius University
• Virgil Zeigler-Hill, Oakland University
• David P. Schmitt, Kansas State University
• Adil S. Saribay, Kadir Has University
• Magdalena Lipnicka, John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin
• Ivana Goláňová, Charles University, Prague
• Ezra Hampikian, Cambridge University
• William Costello, University of Texas at Austin
• Limor Gottlieb, Brunel University London
• Cory J. Cascalheira, New Mexico State University
• Michelle A. Larva, University of Turku

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-16-2026

Abstract

Maintaining multiple intimate relationships entails some risks and complications beyond exclusive pair bonding (i.e., monogamy). Consensual non-monogamy (CNM; e.g., polyamory, swinging, or open relationships) allegedly reduces these risks and complications, but no one has tried to comprehensively document typical CNM risk management practices, nor analyzed the relationship outcomes of those who use these practices. We developed the Multiple Relationships Maintenance Scale (MRMS) to examine how engagement in common CNM practices predicts relationship quality among people with one or more partners. In Study 1, a community sample of people with CNM experience (N = 429) nominated the best practices for maintaining CNM. Responses were combined with theory-derived practices to create the MRMS. In Study 2, we administered the MRMS in three international online surveys (N = 4,290) to assess factor structure and construct validity. Factor analysis revealed nine practices: disclosure of one’s extra-pair attractions to a partner, open communication about jealousy, compersion, willingness to care for unrelated children, shared extra-pair sexual experiences, partner (non)hierarchy, sexual health maintenance, thoughtful resource distribution among partners, and reputation management. Data from one of the three surveys (n = 871) showed that each practice had distinctive patterns of association with previous CNM experience, relationship and sexual satisfaction, partner investment and interdependence, and self-reported infidelity (i.e., how often extra-pair interactions feel to violate an existing relationship’s agreements). We discuss how the MRMS may be used to study how people in CNM relationships maintain multiple intimate relationships.

Comments

This article was originally published in Archives of Sexual Behavior, volume 55, in 2026. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-025-03334-9

Recommended Citation

Mogilski, J.K., Miller, G.F., Jonason, P.K. et al. How Do People Maintain Consensual Non-Monogamy? An International Development and Validation of the Multiple Relationships Maintenance Scale. Arch Sex Behav 55, 517–545 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-025-03334-9

Copyright

The authors

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.