The variety of casual sexual relationships and their characteristics

Abstract

Casual sexual relationships (CSR) are increasingly common, but little is known about the main types and their characteristics in our country. This study sought to contribute to overcome this gap and made use of a qualitative methodology to learn about the CSR in which Portuguese emerging adults are involved (N = 177, 18-30 years old). Three studies were carried out, using open questions collected in person and online, with results showing that a CSR is defined by the absence of emotional involvement and commitment and by having exclusively sexual objectives. Multidimensional scaling combined with cluster analysis enabled us to identify four types of CSR: friends with benefits, one-night stand, fooling around, and casual relationship. The four types of relationships show differences among themselves, distinguished by 19 characteristics. We conclude that making this differention is all the more important since the necessity of sexual protection may be perceived differently among them.