Love, sex, and commitment: relationship choices and trajectories among unmarried youth in India

Figures & data

Table 1. Socio-demographic profile of the participants

Variable	Categories	Men (N = 655)		Women (N = 585)
		N	%	N	%
Age (years)	20–2223–25> 25	206253196	31.438.629.9	28020798	47.835.316.7
Religion	HinduMuslimChristianBaudhJainOtherDon’t want to tell	5648428141522	86.11.20.64.22.12.23.3	485141120211914	82.92.31.83.43.53.42.3
Caste	GeneralOther Backward CasteSC/ST/VJNT	418116121	63.817.718.4	4098393	69.914.115.8
Socio-economic status	Lower middle classMiddle classUpper middle class	124423108	18.964.516.4	55342188	9.458.432.1
Family income (INR)	0–21,00021,000–75,000> 75,000	170300181	25.945.827.6	90239251	15.340.842.9
Education	12th/DiplomaGraduatePostgraduate	158362135	24.155.220.6	174274137	29.746.823.4
Currently working	YesNo	376279	57.442.6	292293	49.950.1
Residence type	CityTownVillage	408102145	62.215.522.1	4527954	77.213.59.2
Sexual orientation	HeterosexualHomosexualBisexualAsexualExploring/questioning	603212614	923.23.90.10.6	52694415	89.91.57.50.10.8

Figure 1. Progression of relationships

Table 2. Type of relationships and the total number of partners by gender

	Men			Women			Total
	N	Relationships		N	Relationships		N	Relationships
Relationship type		N	%		N	%		N	%
Serious	375	559	54.7	435	722	60.4	810	1281	57.8
Casual	150	212	20.8	140	184	15.4	290	396	17.9
Friends with benefit	76	93	9.1	81	106	8.9	157	199	9.0
Exploring	118	157	15.4	156	183	15.3	274	340	15.3
Total	455	1021	100	491	1195	100	946	2216	100

Figure 2. Type of involvement in different relationships

Figure 3. Typologies based on relationship trajectories