Nurturance, Eroticism, and Relationship Satisfaction Among People in Monogamous and Consensually Non-Monogamous Relationships

Satisfying romantic relationships often feature high levels of nurturance and eroticism. Consensually non-monogamous (CNM) individuals may experience these with additional partners, potentially reducing the need for both to be present in a primary relationship to achieve satisfaction. We assessed how nurturance and eroticism relate to relationship satisfaction in single-partnered (<i>n</i> = 289) and multi-partnered (<i>n</i> = 335) individuals. We also compared relationship behavior (single vs multiple current partners) and identity (monogamous, <i>n</i> = 217 vs CNM, <i>n</i> = 399). Compared to multi-partnered individuals' reports of their primary relationship, single-partnered individuals reported similar satisfaction and nurturance, and higher eroticism. Across single- and multi-partnered individuals, nurturance and eroticism were positively associated with relationship satisfaction, with no upper level interactions. Instead, interactions emerged when assessing relationship identity. Among monogamous individuals, nurturance and eroticism also did not interact, meaning the positive association of one was consistent across levels of the other. For CNM-identified individuals, however, nurturance and eroticism interacted; nurturance was more strongly linked to satisfaction when eroticism was low, while eroticism was only linked to satisfaction when nurturance was low. When nurturance was high, there was no association between eroticism and satisfaction. Longer relationship durations were linked to lower eroticism and higher nurturance, regardless of partner number or age. Findings suggest that nurturance and eroticism contribute to satisfaction differently for monogamous and CNM individuals, with CNM individuals fostering highly satisfying relationships even when eroticism is low. This study provides a nuanced understanding of how these factors contribute to satisfaction across diverse relationship forms.