Performance
Most participants indicated current involvement in only one FWB relationship (M = 1.39, SD = 1.03). Specifically, 76% of participants indicated having just one FWB partner, 16% had two, and 8% had three or more. Although the majority of participants seemed to suggest exclusive involvement with just one FWB partner, these data indicate that a sizeable minority did not practice monogamy in their FWB relationships. Also, supporting our hypothesis about sex differences in number of current FWB partners, results of an analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed that men reported significantly more numerous concurrent FWB partners (M = 1.64, SD = 1.18) than women (M = 1.31, SD = 0.97), F(1, 404) = 7.99, p < .01.
With regard to the total number of FWB relationships participants have had in their lifetime, the average was 4.80 (SD = 6.84). Consistent with the aforementioned finding that men were likely to have more concurrent FWB partners than women, men also indicated having had more FWB partners in their lifetime (M = 7.44, SD = ) compared to women (M = 3.91, SD = 4.08), F(1, 402) = , p < .001.
Relationship Initiation
In terms of reasons for starting a FWB relationship, both sex (60%) and emotional connection (35%) were cited with relative frequency, consistent with expectations. In fact, the vast majority of participants (77%) indicated that one or both motives played a role in starting their FWB relationship. To examine sex differences in reasons for beginning such relationships, the dichotomous relationship initiation variables were submitted to chi-square analyses.