The researchers believe that CNM participants are able to achieve this simultaneous feeling of security and pleasure since they are allowed to engage in different behaviors that monogamous partners simply are not.
2. Trust Is At An All-Time High
Much like jealousy and satisfaction, people in CNM relationships also showed significantly greater levels of trust as compared to people who partake in monogamy.
And here, the researchers found an interesting paradox in the role of “trust” itself. More specifically, people in monogamous relationships believe that by introducing more participants, a CNM relationship would severely decrease trust in their current partner.
On the flip side, though, participants in CNM relationships cited high trust levels as a primary factor in the launching and success of their union.
3. Lower Rates Of Abuse
According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV), over ten million women and men are physically abused by an intimate partner every single year in the U.S.
But, the researchers found that those who act abusively would not necessarily be able to tolerate CNM relationships. This is mostly due to CNM participants having access to and encouraging external intimacy. So, abusive tendencies do not fall in line with these norms.
4. CNM Relationships Provide A Support Network
Having “your person” that you exclusively rely on can be great. But, it can also force your partner to be like an on-call doctor, who is always your emotional shoulder to cry on.
And the researchers found that this pattern is not always great for partners’ mental health. In fact, it is “associated with poorer psychosocial outcomes, as evidenced by the psychological fallout of divorce,” according to the study.