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Relationship maintenance comprises behaviors partners perform in order to maintain satisfaction and extend the duration of a relationship. The impact of open marriage on relationships varies across couples, yielding positive, neutral, and negative outcomes. Some couples report high levels of marital satisfaction and have long-lasting open marriages. Other couples drop out of the open marriage lifestyle and return to sexual monogamy. Still other couples experience serious problems and report that open marriage contributed to their divorces. Scientists do not yet understand why some couples respond positively to open marriage while other couples respond negatively. ==Positive outcomes== Many couples have positive experiences with open marriage. This does not mean couples never experience problems with open marriage. It simply means some couples enjoy open marriages and also maintain high levels of marital satisfaction and stability. A national study of sexuality conducted by Hunt found that relatively few people engage in swinging style open marriages. Hunt attributed the low number of people in open marriages to various social, psychological, and practical problems. Yet, some of these people "confirmed what the advocates and enthusiasts have claimed--namely, that marital swinging can provide physically intense experiences, that it can be immensely ego-gratifying and that it is a temporary release from confinement and responsibility and a brief chance to live out one's wildest fantasies." (pages 273-274) 〔Hunt, M. (1974). Sexual Behavior in the 1970s. Chicago: Playboy Press.〕 Open marriages can challenge couples with various problems, but open marriages can also offer couples extremely satisfying experiences. Couples may view the satisfying experiences as well worth the efforts spent managing the problems. Some studies show that couples in open marriages can maintain satisfying relationships. Rubin observed no differences in marital adjustment between couples in open marriages and couples in sexually monogamous marriages. 〔Rubin A. M. (1982). Sexually open versus sexually exclusive marriage: A comparison of dyadic adjustment. Alternative Lifestyles, 5, 101-108.〕 Rubin and Adams reported no differences in marital satisfaction between couples in open marriages and couples in sexually monogamous relationships. 〔Rubin A. M., & Adams J. R. (1986). Outcomes of sexually open marriages. ''Journal of Sex Research'', 22, 311-319.〕 Gilmartin likewise found no differences in marital satisfaction between sexually open and sexually monogamous couples. 〔Gilmartin, B.G. (1978). The Gilmartin Report. Secaucus, NJ: Citadel.〕 A study by Bergstrand and Willams found couples in open marriages had higher levels of satisfaction than couples in the general population. 〔Bergstrand, C., & Williams, J.B. (2000). Today's alternative marriage styles: The case of swingers. Electronic Journal of Human Sexuality, Volume 3, Oct. 10, 2000. Retrieved July 26, 2006 from http://www.ejhs.org/volume3/swing/body.htm.〕 Some couples in open marriages report high levels of satisfaction with their relationships. A study conducted by Wolf found that 76 percent of openly married couples described the quality of their relationships as "better than average" or "outstanding." 〔Wolf, T.J. (1985). Marriages of Bisexual Men. In F. Klein and T.J. Wolf (Eds.), Bisexualities: Theory and Research (pp. 135-148). New York, NY: Haworth Press.〕 Dixon found similarly high levels of marital satisfaction in a study of 100 bisexual and heterosexual husbands in open marriages. 〔Dixon, D. (1985). Perceived sexual satisfaction and marital happiness of bisexual and heterosexual swinging husbands. In F. Klein and T.J. Wolf (Eds.), Bisexualities: Theory and Research (pp. 209-222). New York, NY: Haworth Press.〕 In another study, Dixon observed that 80 percent of wives in open marriages rated their marital compatibility as "excellent" or "good," and 76 percent of the wives rated their sexual satisfaction as "excellent" or "good." 〔Dixon, J.K. (1985). Sexuality and relationship changes in married females following the commencement of bisexual activity. In F. Klein and T.J. Wolf (Eds.), Bisexualities: Theory and Research (pp. 115-133). New York, NY: Haworth Press.〕 Buunk has also reported high levels of satisfaction in openly married couples. 〔Buunk B. (1980). Extramarital sex in the Netherlands: Motivations in social and marital context. Alternative Lifestyles, 3, 11-39.〕 Some couples feel open marriage has increased their marital satisfaction. Bergstrand and Williams collected online questionnaires from 1092 people involved in swinging style open marriages. 〔 Among those people who said they were "somewhat unhappy" or "unhappy" with their marriages before swinging, around 80-90 percent said they were happier with their marriages after they started swinging. Nearly half of people who said they were "very happy" with their marriages before swinging claimed to be even happier with their marriages after swinging. Open marriage can in some cases increase marital satisfaction. Thus, open marriage can have a positive impact on many couples. These couples are able to enjoy open marriage while maintaining satisfying and stable relationships with one another. Levels of marital satisfaction for these couples are often quite high. Some couples even feel open marriage has improved their relationships. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Open marriage relationship」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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