Dispositional Characteristics of Individuals Involved in Back Burner Relationships

Abstract

To determine whether certain characteristics are shared by young adults who choose to communicatively maintain back burner relationships, this study investigated the associations between dispositional characteristics (i.e., sociosexual orientation, sensation seeking, narcissism, Machiavellianism, and the Big Five personality traits) and the number of back burners maintained by single and romantically involved individuals. Findings revealed that all dimensions of unrestricted sociosexual orientation and high sensation seeking were positively associated with number of back burners when predictors were considered independently. When the relative contribution of predictors was examined, only unrestricted sociosexual behavior significantly predicted the number of back burners. Implications for developing a profile of those who communicate to initiate and sustain back burner relationships are discussed.

Keywords:

• Back Burners
• Dispositional Characteristics
• Machiavellianism
• Narcissism
• Sensation Seeking
• Sociosexual Orientation
• The Big Five

Notes

[1] G*Power was used to determine statistical power based on the study’s sample size. Power to detect significant differences with a moderate effect size was .99 for the correlations.

[2] With the exception of two individuals aged 50 and 63, all participants were between the ages of 18 and 28. The age range obtained in this study is on par with previous studies of back burners, but as a check, the analyses were repeated after removing these two individuals from the sample. The results were unchanged; thus, results from the full sample are reported here.

[3] Statistical analyses were conducted to determine whether meaningful differences existed between single participants and those who were romantically involved. Tests for significant differences between independent correlations using r to Z-score transformations (although admittedly underpowered) revealed no significant differences, nor did multiple linear regression examining the comparative influence of the dispositional variables on the number of back burners reported for single versus partnered individuals (dummy coded).

[4] Dibble and Drouin (2014) noted that “some degree of communication” must be maintained for a relationship to be considered a back burner (p. 96), but the specific frequency of communication as a defining characteristic of this type of relationship (if, indeed, it exists) has not been determined. Yet, because communication is necessary “in order to keep or establish the possibility of future romantic and/or sexual involvement” with the back burner (p. 96), those who communicate less often with their back burner may differ in important ways from those who communicate more often with this person. To investigate this possibility, we repeated the analyses with only those participants who communicated with their back burner once per week or more (i.e., 70.1% of the sample). The results were unchanged; thus, results from the full sample are reported here.