An on-line survey comparing swingers and polyamorists.
Jenks, Richard J.
Introduction
Swinging is defined as the exchange of partners solely for sexual
purposes. Involvement at the emotional level (although this no doubt
does occur) is contrary to their normative structure. Throughout
history, the practice of spouse exchange has existed. There is evidence
that this form of behavior, as late as the 1940s, was acceptable in 39
percent of world's cultures. In the United States, so-called
"key clubs" came into existence. These "clubs"
consisted of WWII fighter pilots and their wives. Starting in the
1950's the media labeled this form of behavior as
"wife-swapping." Later, tags such as co-marital sex, and then,
swinging were introduced. Currently, the term the Lifestyle is used and
is probably the preferred term among those who practice this behavior
(Gould, 1999). However, the more popular term is swinger and, therefore,
that is what will be used in this paper. Estimates vary as to the
prevalence of this lifestyle. Most estimates place the incidence at 2 %
or less (Bartell, 1971; Cole & Spanaird, 1974; Hunt, 1974; Jenks,
1998). However, a study by the North American Swing Club Alliance
(NASCA) states that 15 % of couples in the U.S. have engaged, at least
at some point in their married lives, in swinging (McGinley, 1995)
Polyamory is less well-known than swinging. Polyamory literally
means many loves. According to Loving More (2013), which is a website
and magazine devoted to polyamory, it involves "emotionally
connected relationships openly involving three or more people. It is
about honesty, integrity and respect". One of the arguments used by
both swingers and polys (as polyamorists are known) is that the
prevalence of cheating among married couples is high and that this
element of cheating is absent with swinging and polyamory. Although
there are similarities between swingers and polys - the term,
"swollies," has been recently coined by Ken Haslam for those
traits shared between polys and swingers--there are important
differences. Scheff (2014) states that a "desire for multiple
partners as innate or as a choice and a desire or lack thereof to change
traditional familial and gender roles" (p. 75) are the two most
important. While the swingers focus on the lifestyle, the polys
emphasize the innate. And, swingers, in contrast to polys, do not seek
to change the traditional roles.
Swinging Literature
The literature pertaining to swinging is more prevalent than that
for polyamory. With regards to the former, there have been studies which
have looked at their social and demographic characteristics. Studies are
consistent in terms of age. Jenks (1985), in his study of attendees at a
national swingers convention reported the mean age to be 39. Bergstrand
and Sinski (2010) reported a mean age of 39.1. Finally, Fernandes
(2009), in his study of 1376 swingers, found that 29% of the males were
between 36 and 45 while another 33% were between the ages of 46 and 55.
The figures for the females were 42% and 22%, respectively.
Social class variables have also been studied. A number of studies
(Gilmartin, 1975; Jenks, 1985; Levitt, 1988) found that swingers were
above average in education. Fernandes (2009) found his respondents were,
on the average, college educated and had incomes ranging between $70,000
and $200,000. These studies definitely point to a lifestyle engaged in
by those who are middle and upper-middle class.
Politically, Jenks (1985) found that 50% of swingers voted for
Ronald Reagan in the 1980 election while a little less than 24% voted
for Jimmy Carter. Ideologically, the plurality (41%) labeled themselves
as "moderate" while 32% said "conservative" and 27%
identified themselves as "liberal." Bartell (1971) also
reported a high incidence of Republicans in his sample of Midwestern and
Southwestern swingers. However, when asked specific questions relating
to family and sexual issues, swingers in the Jenks' sample were, in
contrast to their more general attitudes, liberal. Questions here
included topics like: divorce, premarital sex, pornography and
homosexuality and abortion.
There is evidence that there has been a change in political
identification and ideology in recent years. In the Bergstrand and
Sinski (2010) study, there were slightly more who identified as Democrat
(31.7%) than Republican (27.7%). Almost as many (27%) identified
themselves as Independents. Using a 1-5 scale on political ideology they
found that approximately 44% were right in the middle (a 3 on their
scale) while 30% were in the liberal direction and approximately 26%
were in the conservative direction.
As to religion, Bartell (1971) found that a majority did not attend
church of any kind on a regular basis. Two-thirds of the swingers in the
Jenks' (1998) study reported no present religious identification.
Gilmartin's (1971) figure was 63%. Fernandes (2009) found that only
five percent of his sample said they were "very interested" in
religion; 50% had no interest. In contrast, Bergstrand and Sinski (2010)
found that slightly over 72% said they belonged to a church, synagogue
or mosque. However, given the choice of Catholic, Protestant or Jew,
38.5% said "Other." This figure was a close second to
Protestant (38.8%).
Polyamory Literature
As indicated, there is less academic literature on polyamory than
swinging. However, that is changing. One of the early studies looking at
the characteristics of polyamorists was conducted in by Walston (2001).
She constructed a questionnaire consisting of 20 major items and the
questionnaire was posted on a number of polyamory Internet sites. She
received 430 completed questionnaires, of which two were excluded, for a
total sample of 428.
Walston found that 37% were between the ages of thirty and
thirty-nine. The next highest category consisted of those between
eighteen and twenty-nine: 28%. One quarter of her sample fit into the
forty to forty-nine category. Walston also asked about religion. She
found that 22% indicated no current religious affiliation while almost
two-thirds gave a response which fit into a non-traditional category
despite the fact that three-fourths were raised in a Judeo-Christian
religion. She found that Unitarian-Universalism (UU) was one of the
major responses in the non-traditional category (12 %) and that many of
these also said things like pagan, agnostic or atheist. UU is a
humanistic religion and so these more specified categories are not
unusual. Also, there are UU churches which allow polys to form and meet
in their church.
In a recent survey of over 4,000 respondents of Loving More the
average age was approximately 40. In terms of level of education, 27.4%
had a graduate degree while another 35% had a Bachelor's degree.
Therefore, a slight majority (52.4%) had at least 16 years of education.
The authors also asked about how happy they were. Respondents could
answer along a 1 to 4 scale with 1 being "Not too happy," 2
being "Not sure,", 3 being "Pretty happy," and 4
being "Very happy." Their average score was slightly over 3.0.
This score was higher than the score for the comparison sample which
consisted of respondents to the General Social Sciences Survey; however
the score was not significantly higher (Fleckenstein, Bergstrand &
Cox, 2012).
Elisabeth Sheff (2014) conducted a 15 year longitudinal study of
poly. One of her findings was that her respondents ranged in age from
their early thirties to their mid-sixties. Most were either
non-religious or identified with a non-mainstream religion. Pagans,
along with Unitarian-Universalists, predominated with a small number of
Buddhists, Jews, and Christians. She also found them to be concentrated
in the cities and suburbs. Her sample was almost all white and were
well-educated and liberal. She indicated that there are no reliable
statistics as to the exact number of polys in the United States but
there are estimates which run all the way from 1.2 million to 9.8
million involved in either polyamory or some kind of non-monogamous
relationship.
Summary
The available evidence indicates that both swingers and polys tend
to concentrate in their thirties and forties, are part of the middle or
upper-middle social class as measured by education and income, and only
a small percentage (with the Bergstrand and Sinski exception) have a
religious identification. Ideologically, swingers lean toward moderation
(at least in their non-sexual attitudes) while Scheff reports that polys
are liberal.
The present study will also analyze the demographics of swingers
and polys. However, in contrast to most other studies on these
populations, I will ask questions relating to politics and religion in
more detail. I will also examine issues not previously studied.
Specifically, I will include questions relevant to the areas of
happiness, well-being and life satisfaction.
Method
Procedure
The present study was conducted over the period from 2008 to 2009
and was approved by the university Institutional Board of Review. A
questionnaire was placed on a popular information gathering website:
SurveyMonkey.
Measure
The questionnaire consisted of 72 questions. Some of these
contained sub-parts making a total of 111 questions. The questionnaire
was broken down into major areas: social and demographic, health and
life satisfaction, along with their attitudes and values on various
issues.
Participants
Respondents were recruited from a number of different sources. One
source was from students who were in both introductory and advanced
sociology and social psychology classes during the fall and spring
semesters of 2008 - 2009. Students also had the option of recruiting up
to five respondents from outside the university. Two extra credit points
for each completed questionnaire was awarded to the student. Secondly,
various local churches were asked if they would place the questionnaire
on their websites. A Presbyterian, Unity and a United Church of Christ
did so. A third source was from BeliefNet.com. BeliefNet.com is a
website that focuses primarily upon religious and spiritual issues. All
religious faiths are covered and individuals have the opportunity to go
to sites and discuss anything from traditional Judeo-Christianity to
paganism.
A fourth source consisted of gaining the assistance of a person who
is very active both locally and nationally in the polyamory movement.
She placed the survey link on various polyamory sites. Finally, Dr.
Robert McGinley, founder and president of the North American Swing Club
Association International (NASCA), gave his permission to include the
link to the survey on the NASCA site, a site which swingers and swing
clubs have access.
A total of 174 swingers and 34 polyamorists completed the
questionnaire. A total of 1191 who were neither a swinger nor a poly
also completed the survey for a total of 1399 total respondents.
Results
Demographic Variables
Table 1 presents the findings relevant to those demographic
variables which have been studied for swingers.
Mean age for both groups was in the forties with the polys having a
slightly higher average age. The social class indicators of education
and income put both groups solidly in the middle and upper-middle class.
Political and Social Variables
Democrats now predominate among both swingers and polys with the
polyamory group having a slightly higher percentage of Democrats. The
differences between the two groups are not statistically significant.
However, we see larger differences when we look at the ideology
responses. Here, the swingers had two times the rate of conservatives
and very conservatives than the polys. Fully two-thirds of polys placed
themselves into the liberal or very liberal categories in contrast to
approximately forty-six percent of swingers. And, the plurality (44.1%)
of polys labeled themselves as "Very Liberal" in contrast to
less than twenty percent of swingers giving this response.
I also asked questions relating to some issues of current interest.
Respondents were asked to indicate if they found four different
behaviors: "Morally Acceptable," "Morally
Unacceptable," or had "No Opinion" on the issue. Table 3
presents the percentage of respondents giving the "Morally
Acceptable" response. And, for comparison purposes, the sample of
non-swingers and non-polys were included.
The percentage agreeing with the death penalty ranged from a low of
41% with the polys to approximately 61% with the swingers. Half the
general sample gave this response. A significant chi square was found on
this variable: [X.sup.2] (4) = 9.3, p < .05. A marginal significance
existed between the polys and the swingers: [X.sup.2] (2) = 5.5 (2), p =
.06. A second question asked their opinion on divorce. The general
sample was much less likely to see divorce as acceptable. A significant
difference appeared here: X 2 (4) = 54.4, p < .001. There was no
significant difference between the swingers and the polys.
A large gap was found on both the abortion and gay marriage issues.
A vast majority of polys thought abortion was acceptable while only
about a third of the general sample gave this response. Approximately
forty-six percent of the general sample said it was unacceptable whereas
23.7% of swingers and only 5.9% of the polys said this. A significant
difference on this issue was also found: [X.sup.2] (4) = 74.5, p <
.001. A significant difference also existed between the polys and the
swingers: [X.sup.2] (2) = 7.0, p <. .05.
The final issue explored was that of gay marriage. As can be seen,
there was a wide spread among all three groups. Significant differences
existed here: [X.sup.2] (4) = 66.1, p < .001. The polys and swingers
were significantly different: [X.sup.2] (2) = 10.6, p < .01.
Religious Variables
Respondents were asked (a) if they belonged to a church, synagogue,
or mosque, (b) how many times they attend any kind of
religious/spiritual service in a typical month, and (c) their belief in
a God or some kind of higher being. These results are presented in Table
4.
Results show that both polys and the swingers are far less likely
to be a church member than those who are neither a poly nor a swinger. A
significant chi square was found: [X.sup.2] (2) = 31.8, p < .001. No
significant difference was found between the polys and the swingers.
When asked how many times they attended services in a typical month,
swingers and polys were almost identical and were significantly less
likely to attend church services than the general sample: [X.sup.2] (2)
= 33.5, p < .001. I also looked at those respondents who did say that
they attended some kind of service. The general sample averaged 4.4
times per month. For those swingers who did attend, they averaged 3.2
times and the polys who attended some kind of service had the lowest
attendance rate - 2.2 times in a typical month. An ANOVA revealed a
significant difference among the three groups: F (2) = 4.1, p < .05.
There was no significant difference between the polys and swingers.
The final question asked respondents' belief concerning a God.
As can be seen, those who were neither swingers nor polys were far more
likely to say they believe in a God and least likely to say that they
believed in neither a God nor some kind of "higher power."
Polys were least likely to believe in a traditional God and most likely
to endorse some kind of "higher power." A significant
difference was found among the three groups: [X.sup.2] (6) = 74.4, p
< .001. There was also a significant difference between the swingers
and the polys: [X.sup.2] (3) = 12.8, p < .01.
Life Satisfaction
The final major category I looked at dealt with issues surrounding
happiness and life satisfaction. A standard question here is to have the
respondent place themselves on a 1 to 10 scale with the higher number
indicating a higher level of happiness. The general sample mean was 7.3
while the swingers averaged 7.5 and the polys were a little higher -
7.6.
I also asked some questions relating to their emotional and
psychological well-being. One question asked: "Have you had severe
enough personal, emotional, behavioral, or mental problems (for example,
depression or anxiety) during the past year that you felt you needed
help?" Responses appear in Table 5.
If we look at those who gave either of the Yes responses we see
that the general sample was much more likely to say "Yes"
(60.5%) while the figure for the swingers was 30.3% and the polys was
48.5%. However, the polys were much more likely to seek help. In fact,
over 81% of those who gave either of the "Yes" responses
actually sought help while approximately 77% of the swingers did so.
Strikingly, of the 60% of the general sample who gave either of the
"Yes" responses, only 35% sought help. When all three
categories are considered a significant difference was found: [X.sup.2]
(4) = 9.6, p < .05.
A related question asked if they were satisfied with their
emotional/mental health. A higher percentage of both polys (77.4%) and
swingers (81.7%) fell into either the "Agree" or
"Strongly Agree" categories. The general sample had the lowest
number--71.9%. The poly sample had the smallest percentage (6.5%) saying
either "Disagree" or "Strongly Disagree".
Significant differences were found when comparing all three groups:
[X.sup.2] (4) = 10.3, p <. 05. No significant difference was found
between our two relevant groups: the polys and the swingers.
Two questions relevant to how they see their lives were asked. The
first was: "I wish I could change some part of my life," and
the second was: "In most ways, my life is close to my ideal."
Table 6 presents these results.
The majority of each of the three groups responded that they would
like to change some aspect of their lives. The polys (84.8%) had the
highest percentage giving this response while both the other groups had
the same response rate (70.5%). There was no significant difference
among the three groups. Also, the polys, although having a higher
percentage than the swingers, did not significantly differ from the
swingers. On the "ideal" question, the general sample had the
smallest percentage in the agree categories and also the highest
percentage in the disagree categories. A significant chi square was
found: [X.sup.2] (4) = 9.1, p < .05. However, no significant
difference occurred between the swingers and the polys. In fact, their
numbers were virtually identical.
Discussion
One of the purposes of the present paper was to update the
literature relevant to swinging. Although some things have remained
since the early research, it seems that other things have changed. Age
appears to be one of those traits remaining constant. In this study the
mean age for the swingers was 43.4 and the plurality (30.2%) of swingers
fit into the 36-45 age group while almost 28% were ages 46-55. While the
mean age was slightly higher than previous studies it is similar and,
like the Fernandes sample, the majority was between 36 and 55.
Swinging
Swinging still is a middle to upper-middle class phenomena. In
2007, 27% of the population had a B.A. or higher (Crissy, 2009). The
mean educational level for the swingers was 16.3 with a median of 16,
which is greater than the general population. Income also places
swingers squarely in the upper-middle class. In 2007, median household
income in the United States was $50,740. The figure for whites only
(which made up the vast majority of the present study) was $53,714 (
Bishaw & Semega, 2008). And, an income of $70,000, which 38% of the
swingers had in this study, placed a person in the top 20% of the
population (Congressional Budget Office, 2011).
On the other hand, political identification and ideology have
changed over the years. In the early studies, swingers tended to be
fairly conservative to moderate and Republican. Berstrand and Sinski
found a change towards more moderation in ideology and a slightly higher
percentage identifying as Democrat than Republican. The current study
verifies that trend. A plurality of swingers saw themselves as Democrats
while only less than fifteen percent labeled themselves as Republican.
The Pew Foundation (2014) reports that, in 2007, 36% of the population
said they were Democrats while 25% said they were Republican. Thirty-two
percent labeled themselves as Independent.
When asked to label their ideology, the plurality (37.1%) gave the
moderate response. The liberal response was given by approximately
thirty percent and the smallest percentage (16.8%) labeled themselves as
either conservative or very conservative. The Pew Foundation (2014)
reports that in 2007, 38% said they were conservative while 42% said
"moderate," and 21% gave the liberal response. The largest gap
between the population, at large, and the swingers occurs with the
"conservative" response. Clearly, fewer swingers are now
identifying as conservative and Republican. It could be argued that the
growth of liberals among swingers is a result of the Republican party
focusing in the last few years on those issues (abortion and gay
marriage) which are more family and sexually oriented, issues which
swingers have been traditionally liberal.
Swingers were asked about religion. About a third said they are a
church member. This is similar to the Jenks (1998) and Gilmartin (1971)
studies which found that around two-thirds said they had no present
religious identification. However, the current finding does seem to
contradict Bergstrand and Sinski. They found that 72% said they belonged
to a church, mosque, or synagogue. Approximately 61% identified as
either Protestant, Catholic or Jew. In the current study approximately
51% gave this response, a 10 point difference.
Maybe a better way of measuring this variable is to ask their
belief in a traditional God. While 61% of my general sample said they
believed in a traditional God, only 36.5% of swingers gave this
response. Almost the same percent (35.9%) said they believed not in a
traditional God, but in some kind of higher power or universal spirit.
On another question, approximately 5% of swingers gave the
"Religious" response while almost half gave the
"Spiritual" response. About a quarter gave either the
"Neither Religious nor Spiritual" or the "Don't
know/No opinion" responses. In contrast, approximately thirteen
percent of the general sample said they were religious while almost 28%
said "Spiritual" and almost 39% said they were "Both
religious and Spiritual." Approximately one-fifth fell into the
neither or don't know/no opinion group. About 24% of swingers fell
into one of these two categories.
Finally, when I asked how often they attended some kind of
religious service in a typical month the majority of swingers said they
did not attend any and, of those who did, the average was only slightly
over three times per month in contrast to the general sample who
averaged over four times per month.,
Various questions and studies yield what may seem to be
inconsistent findings. However, I would argue, given previous studies
and the current one, which used a number of indicators, that swingers
are less religious than the general population, that they are more
likely to be "spiritual" rather than religious, and that they
attend church services less frequently than those who are not swingers
(or polys).
Swingers vs. Polyamorists
A second purpose of the present paper was to look at polyamorists
and to compare them with swingers. Age-wise, polys were in their
mid-forties and had a slightly lower mean level of education than the
swingers. Polys, like the swingers, fit into the middle to upper-middle
social class. And, both their levels of education and household income
are higher than the general population. These findings support the
recent research on polys.
Polys do differ from swingers in their political party
identification and ideology. A slightly higher percentage labeled
themselves as Democrat. And, a major difference occurred when asked
about ideology. Less than 10% labeled themselves as conservative or very
conservative. In fact, no one fell into the "very
conservative" group. On the other hand, over 44% said they were
"Very Liberal" and another 23.5% gave the "Liberal"
response. If we combine these groups we find that two-thirds of polys
fit into one of the liberal categories. A significant difference between
the swingers and polys occurred on this variable: [X.sup.2] (4) = 10.8,
p < .05.
Polys also were more liberal on the social issue questions that
were asked. When the polys were compared with both the general sample
and the swingers the polyamorists were least likely to find the death
penalty acceptable and most likely to find abortion and gay marriage
"morally acceptable." These findings reinforce their labeling
themselves in the liberal/very liberal groups.
Large differences were also found on the religious variables. Polys
were significantly less likely to say they believed in some kind of
traditional God, with less than 10 percent giving this response. Polys
were also more likely to classify themselves as "spiritual, rather
than religious." There was a significant difference both among the
three groups and between the polys and the swingers.
The greater liberality and less religiosity reinforces the recent
research and certainly these findings would make sense for the polys.
Polyamory is an alternative structure to the traditional family. Polys
are engaging in a practice which has been seen as a deviant lifestyle.
These are people who can be seen as taking issue with one of the basic,
if not the basic, social institutions in existence. Both the political
and, especially, the religious institutions teach this. In fact, laws
exist reinforcing the family structure. And, this is a matter of great
concern for religions. It is not a matter to be taken lightly: these
people are breaking political and "moral" laws. It would
follow that polys see the world and its institutions very differently
and challenge the status quo, certainly a liberal perspective.
Questions were also asked about their levels of happiness and life
satisfaction. When asked to place themselves on a scale from 1 to 10
with the higher the score representing a higher level of happiness. When
the population at-large is asked to rate themselves on happiness, the
United States usually has an average score somewhere in the 7's
(Forbes, 2008). The overall average in this study was 7.3, almost the
same as that of the general population. Polys had the highest score and
the general sample had the lowest. However, no significant differences
existed. And, lest we hypothesize that they (the polys and swingers) are
attempting to justify their "deviance" and, therefore, are
lying about their levels of happiness, I looked at an indirect variable
which has been found to be highly related to happiness - trust in
others. I asked the question: "Most people cannot be trusted."
Individuals could: "Strongly Agree," "Agree," have
"No Opinion," "Disagree" or "Strongly
Disagree." The highest percentage in the "Disagree" or
"Strongly Disagree" categories were the polys: 73.5% said this
while only 2.9% were in either of the agree categories. The next highest
trusting group were the swingers with two-thirds fitting into the
disagree categories. The least trusting was the general sample with
61.5% disagreeing and almost twenty percent agreeing. Therefore, it
would seem that both the polys and swingers are indeed telling the truth
and do have high levels of happiness.
When asked if they believed they had significant enough mental or
emotional problems to warrant seeking help the polys were more likely to
respond affirmatively and also that they sought help. The swingers were
more likely to give a "No" response to this question. However,
when asked if they were satisfied with their mental and emotional
health, over three-fourths of the polys responded affirmatively. This
group also had the lowest percentage in the "Disagree" and
"Strongly Disagree." The lowest level of agreement came from
the general sample. Finally, the polys were most likely to agree that,
if they could, they would change some aspect of their lives. However,
they were most likely to agree that their life is close to their ideal:
two-thirds of the polys fit into either the "Agree" or
"Strongly Agree" categories.
These findings on life satisfaction for the polys would, at first
glance, seem to be at odds with one another. On the one hand, they say
they have sought counseling and that they would change some aspect(s) of
their lives; on the other hand, they say that their life is close to
their ideal. How can this be? Patterns of social interaction, especially
among partners, can be very complicated. In polyamory, we are not only
dealing with the interactions and emotions between two individuals, but
many. In fact, the combinations can become overwhelming if we consider,
for example, a polyamorous household of four or six people. Divisions of
labor, sexual relations, jealousy, work schedules, etc. can wreak havoc
with the relationships among the members of the household. My conjecture
is that those involved in polyamory either recognize this from the
beginning or come to recognize how complicated things are and also
recognize the need to sort these things out with some kind of
professional. Furthermore, seeking help does not mean they are having
significant personal or psychological issues. In a conversation with an
individual involved in the polyamory movement, she indicated that polys
often face new situations for which no norm currently exists and that
sometimes one or all those involved in the relationship just need advice
or suggestions as how to proceed. As a result, they not only have a
greater likelihood of saying that they not only need help but proceed to
see someone. If they have sought, and received, competent counseling,
they are better able to handle the relationships. And, if they have
achieved this, they (along with others in the group) can be happier,
better adjusted individuals who recognize they may need to change some
aspects of their lives (and possibly their interactions of whatever form
with their partners) but, all in all, say they are leading a life that
is richly satisfying.
One of the flaws of the present study is the low number of
polyamorists. Therefore, one of the recommendations is to include a
larger sample in future research. Also, finding a representative sample
of polyamorists (or swingers) is very difficult. In my conversation with
someone active in the polyamory movement, she indicated that there was
an attempt to include questions relating to polyamory on the General
Social Sciences Survey but the proposal was turned down. Also, the study
was conducted over the internet which excludes those individuals who may
not have a computer or access to one. However, given the educational and
income level of polys this is probably much less a problem than the
small sample.
Finally, given this research, along with the previous work, there
seems to be no reason to conclude that either polys or swingers are
deeply disturbed or unhappy people and that they are simply lying about
their happiness and life satisfaction in order to deceive themselves
and/or others. Maybe some do fit into this category but probably the
vast majority do not. Furthermore, no doubt there are therapists who,
when counseling those who do not fit into the standard societal mode as
relating to marriage and the family, proceed with the former
perspective. As a result, many polys and swingers may avoid seeking
advice and counsel which may make their particular relationships even
more fruitful and rewarding. It is therefore recommended, and hoped,
that therapists become better educated in such non-monogamous
relationships like swinging and polyamory and do not allow any personal
emotions or feelings which they may personally have to intrude upon any
therapy conducted with poly and/or swinging clients.
Richard J. Jenks, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus of Sociology
Indiana University Southeast
Contact and Additional Information to be addressed to: Richard
Jenks, Ph.D. 701 Brittany Lane, New Albany, IN 47150
502-345-7358
rjjenks@ius.edu
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Bergstrand, C.R. & Sinski, J.B. (2010) Swinging in America.
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Bishaw, A. & Semega, J. (2008). Income, Earnings, and Poverty
Data from the 2007 American Community Study. US Census Bureau. [WWW
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Table 1
Various Social and Demographic Characteristics for the Swingers and
Polys
Group Characteristic Swingers Polys
Age: Mean 43.4 46.9
Percent <36 19.5 29.4
Percent 36-45 30.2 11.8
Percent 46-55 27.8 35.3
Education Level: Mean 16.3 15.9
Percentages with Incomes:
Under $20,000 13.5 12.1
Over $70,000 38.0 42.5
Gender
Male 59.4 41.2
Female 41.6 58.8
Percent Caucasian 87.0 94.1
Table 2 presents the findings relevant to political identification and
ideology.
Group Swingers Polys
Party identification
Democratic 40.2 45.5
Independent 22.5 40.2
Republican 14.8 12.1
Other 13.6 15.2
No opinion 8.9 6.1
Political Ideology *
Very conservative 1.2 0.0
Conservative 15.6 8.8
Moderate 37.1 23.5
Liberal 26.9 23.5
Very liberal 19.2 44.1
* [X.sup.2] (4) = 10.8, p < .05.
Table 3
Response (Morally Acceptable) on Various Social Issues: General
Sample, Swingers & Polys
Group: General Sample Swingers Polys
Issue:
Death Penalty * 50.0 60.9 41.2
Divorce 65.9 97.1 90.5
Abortion ** 36.2 63.3 85.3
Gay Marriage ** 51.5 75.6 100
* p < .05. ** p < .01 *** p < .001
Table 4
Responses on Religious Variables for the Three Groups: General Sample,
Swingers, Polys
Group: General Sample Swingers Polys
Question:
Church Member (% saying Yes) *** 54.7 34.1 29.4
Percent saying they Don't Attend 48.4 70.1 70.6
Church in a Typical Month **
Belief: **
In a God 61.1 36.5 8.8
A Universal Spirit/Higher Power 21.9 35.9 44.1
Neither 9.2 14.1 32.4
Don't Know/No Opinion 7.8 13.5 14.1
** p < .01 *** p < .001
Table 5
Percent Saying they Needed Therapy: General Sample, Polys and Swingers
Group: General Sample Polys Swingers
Question:
Yes, Sought Help: * 21.1 39.4 23.3
Yes, Did Not Seek Help 39.4 9.1 7.0
No 23.3 51.5 69.8
* p < .05.
Table 6
Percent Responses on: Seeking Change and Life is Ideal by Group
Group: General Sample Polys Swingers
Question: Change Life
Agree/Strongly Agree 70.5% 84.8% 70.5%
Don't Know/ No Opinion 12.0% 6.1% 12.7%
Disagree/Strongly Disagree 17.5% 9.1% 16.9%
Question: Life is Close to
Ideal *
Agree/Strongly Agree 56.7% 67.6% 67.5%
Don't Know/No Opinion 16.9% 14.7% 15.1%
Disagree/Strongly Disagree 26.3% 17.6% 17.5%
* p < .05
