Comarital mate‐sharing and family stability∗

Revision of a paper presented in the Family Action Section of the National Council on Family Relations Annual Meeting, November 4, 1972, Portland, Oregon. The authors would like to thank Roger Libby for commenting on an earlier version of the manuscript.

Abstract

One particular form of extramarital sexual behavior, mate‐swapping or swinging, has received much attention in the popular and social scientific literature recently. One question not yet adequately answered is whether mate‐swapping is harmful or helpful to marital and family stability. The hypothesis that mate‐swapping is potentially less harmful to the stability of a marriage (and family) than a secret extramarital affair is discussed using two sources of data—several participant observation studies of swingers and survey research involving a stratified area probability sample of 579 married adults in a midwestern community. Infidelity, marital cohesion and family solidarity are examined using both descriptive and survey data. The tentative evidence provided does not suggest that mate‐swapping is harmful to marital or family stability.

Notes

Revision of a paper presented in the Family Action Section of the National Council on Family Relations Annual Meeting, November 4, 1972, Portland, Oregon. The authors would like to thank Roger Libby for commenting on an earlier version of the manuscript.