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Sexual Coercion in Dating Relationships represents the next generation of research in the area of sexual coercion. This collection of critical analyses of current research and possible directions for future research benefits all researchers, counselors, and educators who need to thoroughly understand research efforts in this field. The clear analyses allow readers to evaluate critical issues and progress in the field to date.Outside of research and feminist communities, sexual coercion is frequently minimized and too often stereotyped. The words "sexual coercion" (synonyms with "sexual aggress

Unwanted pursuit behaviours (UPBs) comprise repeated and unwanted efforts to establish intimate contact in the form of harassing, tracking, and monitoring. These are common among young adults following the breakup of a romantic relationship, typically by the rejected partner. The relational goal pursuit theory (RGPT) proposes that UPB users overestimate the importance of a relationship to higher-order goals. This study assessed how well a new coping-based approach and the RGPT model predicted UPB frequency and scope. Two hundred participants (50% female; aged 19–24) completed an anonymous online survey. Ruminating was linked to both greater frequency and scope of UPB use. Higher levels of emotion-focused coping and perceived self-efficacy to re-establish intimacy were linked to the use of a wider scope of unwanted pursuit behaviours. Insights gained from UPB users are necessary for understanding mechanisms associated with the turbulent and distressing aftermath of a romantic breakup.

Potential alternative partners can threaten the stability of established relationships, yet a romantic or sexual attraction to someone with whom you are not currently involved (i.e., a 'crush') appears common for those in relationships (Mullinax, Barnhart, Mark, & Herbenick, 2016). This study assessed prevalence of such crushes, individual and relationship predictors, and links to infidelity. Adults (N = 247, aged 25–45, 43.3% women) in romantic relationships completed surveys assessing individual characteristics (attention to alternatives, sociosexual orientation, attachment avoidance), relationship quality (satisfaction, commitment, intimacy), and infidelity. The degree of attention to alternatives predicted whether one had a crush on another while in a romantic relationship. Crushes were fairly common and seemed to have had few negative implications for those in established relationships. These findings will be of use to therapists addressing couples' attraction to others.

Mate poaching occurs when a person attracts another, whom he or she knows is already in an exclusive relationship, into a sexual or romantic relationship. Mate poaching is involved in the evolution of many relationships. Yet, little is known about the quality of these relationships. We examined relationship quality between individuals whose relationships were formed via mate poaching versus not (i.e., a relationship formed serially without overlap with another relationship). We compared ratings of quality from the perspectives of poachers, poached, and co-poached individuals. Adult participants (n = 660) in a romantic relationship responded to questions assessing relationship quality. Those in relationships formed from poaching rated their relationships as lower in relationship satisfaction, commitment and trust, and higher in jealousy, and had higher rates of romantic and sexuality infidelity in their current relationship compared to individuals in non-poached relationships. Those who were poached from an existing relationship rated their current relationship as lower in commitment than did those who poached their current partner into a relationship. The study also provides first insights regarding relationship quality for those who identify as co-poached. We discuss these findings in terms of implications for understanding how relationships are formed and the qualities of those that endure.

Monogamy is a near universal expectation in intimate relationships in Western societies and is typically defined as sexual and romantic exclusivity to one partner. This research informs the paradox between monogamy intentions and high rates of infidelity. Monogamy maintenance (MM) strategies used in response to relationship threats posed by attraction to extradyadic others were identified and characterized. Across three samples, 741 U.S. adults in intimate relationships completed surveys addressing MM. Twenty‐four strategies emerged in three factors—Proactive Avoidance (of attractive alternatives), Relationship Enhancement, and Low Self‐Monitoring and Derogation (in the face of extradyadic attraction). All MM factors were commonly endorsed, yet were largely unsuccessful at forestalling infidelity.

Despite strong prohibition against infidelity and endorsement of exclusivity as a norm, many people report engaging in infidelity. The current study examined this paradox by employing a between-subject design using online surveys with 810 adults to assess actor-observer biases in the degree of permissiveness judging own versus partner's hypothetical behaviour, as well as hypocrisy in judgments of infidelity versus self-reported behaviour. Participants judged their own behaviour more permissively than their partner's, but only for emotional/affectionate and technology/online behaviours (not sexual/explicit or solitary behaviours). Many reported having engaged in behaviours that they judged to be infidelity, especially emotional/affectionate and technology/online infidelity behaviours. Sexual attitudes, age, and religion predicted inconsistencies in judgments of infidelity and self-reported behaviour (hypocrisy). This study has implications for educators and practitioners working with couples to improve communication and establish guidelines for appropriate and inappropriate behaviour.