ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Evolutionary Psychology
PREFERENCE FOR CONSENSUAL NON-MONOGAMY Trying to Understand Who Seeks Open Relationships: An Evolutionary Perspective
Provisionally accepted
- 1University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania
- 2Psychology, University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania
- 3Psychology, Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University, Warsaw, Poland
- 4Department of Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
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Abstract Even if monogamy is the most desirable form of romantic relationship in the modern era, humans engage in an array of mating strategies. We aimed to understand consensual non-monogamy (CNM) from an adaptationist perspective by developing a measure of CNM preferences (Open Relationship Questionnaire; ORQ) and linking it to various relationships and life outcomes. Following construct operationalization and a literature search of CNM-related attitudes and behaviors, we generated 69 items as the initial item pool for the questionnaire. In Study 1 (n = 271), four factors emerged: negative perceptions toward CNM, emotional insecurity in open relationships, preferences for CNM, and discriminatory views of CNM, which are related to the Dark Triad traits, life history strategies, mate value, sociosexuality, childhood maltreatment, and romantic love. In Study 2 (n = 272), we confirmed the internal structure of the ORQ and related it to childhood economic status and sexual fantasies. This research offers new and interesting insights into a specific, less (mis)understood mating strategy.
Keywords: consensual non-monogamy, Life history theory, mating strategies, Personality, sociosexuality
Received: 06 Dec 2025; Accepted: 16 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Burtaverde, Oprea, Jonason, Zanfirescu and Ionescu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Vlad Burtaverde
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