Pros and Cons of a Polyamorous Relationship

Joanna Arnold

Psychology 52

Professor Jain

December 13, 2017

Extra Credit on Polyamory

Imagine waking up to your boyfriend, his girlfriend, his girlfriends girlfriend and her boyfriend every morning. Sounds a little strange right? Well for some people it’s completely normal and they are happy and in love with the people they wake up to every morning.  This type of relationship is called Polyamory.  What is Polyamory you ask? According to Benson, polyamory is the practice of having emotionally and sexually intimate relationships with more than one person, simultaneously, openly, honestly, and keeping partners informed of the existence of other involvements, and acting only when in agreement with others concerned. In this paper we will be exploring the pros and cons of being in a polyamorous relationship. 

If you are fit for a polyamorous relationship there can be many pros for both women and men. There are more people living under one roof and contributing financially so there is an abundance of extra income.  With this extra income many people can and will buy a more luxurious homes, sport cars, beautiful rings and extravagant family vacations.  Instead of one woman doing all of the household chores it can be split among the women and men in the relationships.  Men love being in polyamorous relationship because if one is not in the mood or on her me steal cycle his need can still be met. For an individual in a polyamorous relationship it can be good because you learn to effectively communicate to your partners exactly what you want and need out of the relationship. One of the greatest parts of being in a polyamorous relationship is all the love you get to give and receive to your three, four, five or ten partners. 

It seems like being in a polyamorous relationship is perfect right?  Well there can be some cons just like anything in life. There is a higher chance of catching sexually transmitted infections because you do have more partners and your partners are dating other people.  By dealing with multiple people it can cause one to have a higher chance of mental disorders.  It is also can become cumbersome to take care of multiple people.  You have to help with their mental health if your partner or partners are all mad at you at the same time it can become extremely stressful.  Studies also show that children who have patents in a polyamorous relationship tend to do poorer in school compared to children whose parents are in a monogamous relationship.  Children with parents in a polyamorous relationship have a harder to studying and staying focused in school because of this they have lower academic scores. Studies show monogamous families adjust to school better.  Couples in polyamorous relationships are more susceptible to become jealous because it is a natural human behavior and seeing your partner be with another woman or man can cause one to become jealous even if you’ve previously agreed that it is okay for your partner to be with other people.  Another negative is there is a small dating pool of people who are actually open to being in a polyandrous relationship.