Emotional promiscuity

Emotional promiscuity has been addressed in both the popular press as well as the scientific literature.

In the popular press, there was a book published in 2007 entitled, Avoid the Heartbreak of Emotional Promiscuity, written by Brienne Murk.[1] In her book, Murk argues that (a) guarding one's heart is required for staying pure, (b) emotions cannot be trusted, and (c) that young people must set physical and emotional boundaries. Murk also attempts to discourage young people from having premarital sex and engaging in activities she deems impure. The book is written from a Christian perspective, and its assertions based on the author's religious interpretations.

In the scientific literature, Jones (2011) examined the concept of Emotional Promiscuity as a personality/individual difference construct [2] Jones defines emotional promiscuity as the predisposition to fall in love easily, fast, and often. Such individuals tend to love the feeling of falling in love, and want to be with many romantic partners.

Emotional promiscuity can be assessed through self-report using the Emotional Promiscuity Scale (or EP Scale;[3] and is distinct from both sexual promiscuity [4] and anxious attachment [5]

In addition, emotional promiscuity poses a health risk when combined with sexual promiscuity.[6]

In particular individuals who fall in love frequently and easily, and who are also comfortable with casual sex, have many unprotected sexual partners. The authors argue this finding results from premature trust which eventuates into the faulty perception that protection is unnecessary.

References

  1. Murk, Brienne (2007). Avoiding the Heartbreak of Emotional Promiscuity. Regal Books.
  2. Jones, Daniel. "Emotional Promiscuity: Consequences for health and well-being". University of British Columbia. Retrieved November 25, 2012.
  3. Jones, Daniel (2011). The Emotional Promiscuity Scale. New York, Routledge: Handbook of Sexuality-Related Measures. pp. 226–227. ISBN 0415801753.
  4. Simpson, Jeffrey; Gangestad, Steve (1991). "Individual differences in sociosexuality: Evidence for convergent and discriminant validity.". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 60: 870–883. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.60.6.870.
  5. Hazan, C; Shaver, Phillip (1987). "Romantic love conceptualized as an attachment process.". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 52: 511–524. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.52.3.511. PMID 3572722.
  6. Jones, Daniel; Paulhus, Delroy (2012). "The role of emotional promiscuity in unprotected sex.". Psychology & Health 27: 1021–1035. doi:10.1080/08870446.2011.647819.
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