One Night Stands Can Turn Into Meaningful Relationships

The one-night stand just got a little more romantic. New study from the University of Iowa suggests that relationships that begin as a casual "hookup," have a fighting chance to turn into committed long-term relationships.

Author and UI sociologist Anthony Paik found that the average relationship quality was still better for those people who waited until they were serious to be sexually involved, compared to couples who began as "hookups," "friends with benefits" or casual dating relationships.

The study, published in the journal Social Science Research, gathered data from surveys completed by almost 650 straight adults from Chicago who revealed when their relationships became sexual. The participants were also asked questions involving their love for their partner, the future of the relationship, intimacy satisfaction and how their lives would change if the commitment ended.

After Paik eliminated those people who were not interested in serious relationships, he was able to determine that having sex early on in a relationship wasn`t necessarily the cause for any lack in quality.

"The study suggests that rewarding relationships are possible for those who delay sex," Paik, an assistant professor in the UI College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, said in a news release. "But it`s also possible for true love to emerge if things start off with a more `Sex and the City` approach, when people spot each other across the room, become sexually involved and then build a relationship."

These findings follow a previous study also by Paik that showed Chicago-area women who were involved with a friend were 44 percent more likely to stray. For men the likelihood was increased by 25 percent. If these same people were involved with a stranger or acquaintance the odds increased by 30 percent for women and 43 percent for men, according to a summary of the findings.

The reason for the lower quality scores found with the one-night stand relationships could likely be because some people are simply more likely to find relationships unrewarding and become more prone to "hooking up," Paik said.

Paik also found that the number of sexual partners someone has accumulated played a role because the more sexual partners people had, the more they prefer short-term, casual relationships, and the less likely they were to pursue the development of a lasting one.

What Paik didn`t expect to find was that most people he studied did "date" regardless of whether or not they were interested in finding love, a surprising result as he says dating falls under the category of romance.

"While hookups or friends with benefits can turn into true love, both parties typically enter the relationship for sex and the expectations are fairly low," Paik added. "In the casual dating category, some people think they`re headed for a long-term relationship, but there are also people who are only in it for sex."

From: Aol Health