Becoming Exclusive: Shared Investments and Women’s Nonexclusive Relationship Outcomes

• In Event: Family Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 13: Relationship Dynamics and Quality

Abstract

Little research has examined transitions from non-exclusive to exclusive romantic relationships. We investigate predictors of this transition using the Relationship Dynamics and Social Life Study, a longitudinal dataset with weekly surveys measuring relationship characteristics and experiences, along with in-depth interviews from a subset of respondents. Using between-within (hybrid) logistic regression and qualitative analysis, we demonstrate the importance of shared investments in shaping non-exclusive relationship outcomes. Our findings fall into three categories: time (including time spent together and relationship duration), shared pregnancy or child, and sexual behavior (both within the couple and concurrent partnerships). We find that couples who report spending time together are more likely to become exclusive than before they spent time together. However, as the length of the relationship increases, so does the probability of ending the relationship. Sharing a pregnancy or a child decreases the probability of staying non-exclusive as compared to before the shared pregnancy or child, appearing as a major decision point for couples: either become exclusive or end the relationship. Finally, couples who have penile-vaginal sex in the first month (but not the first week) have a higher probability of becoming exclusive compared to couples who do not have penile-vaginal sex in the first month, but if the respondent’s partner has a concurrent relationship in the first month, this decreases the probability of becoming exclusive. Overall, these results highlight how shared investments (and disinvestments) shape whether and how non-exclusive relationships transition to exclusivity.

Authors

• Cassie Mead, Indiana University-Bloomington

• Jessica Short, Indiana University-Bloomington