An Empirical Investigation of Variations in Outcomes Associated with Heterosexual Adults’ Most Recent Mixed-Sex Threesome Experience

Thompson, Ashley E.; Osborn, McKenna; Gooch, Katie; Ravet, Mariah

doi:10.1007/s10508-022-02299-3

Original Paper
Published: 29 June 2022

An Empirical Investigation of Variations in Outcomes Associated with Heterosexual Adults’ Most Recent Mixed-Sex Threesome Experience

Ashley E. Thompson ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-1837-2358¹,
McKenna Osborn¹,
Katie Gooch¹ &
Mariah Ravet¹

Archives of Sexual Behavior volume 51, pages 3021–3031 (2022)Cite this article

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Abstract

Research reveals that a substantial proportion of North American adults report interest in and experience with mixed-sex threesomes (MSTs; sexual activity involving three people at the same time in which persons of more than one sex are present). Despite the prevalence of MST participation, little is known about the outcomes of MST experiences. Thus, the current study assessed MST outcomes using various metrics including the extent to which one’s most recent MST met expectations, the likelihood of participating in the MST again, and whether an orgasm was experienced. In addition, the extent to which one’s sex, the sex of those involved, and the inclusion of one’s romantic partner impacted outcomes was examined. Data from 276 heterosexual adults (217 men, 59 women) revealed that, overall, adults report fairly positive outcomes from their most recent MST and that males reported more positive outcomes than did females (particularly when engaging in a MST with two members of the other sex). In addition, MSTs involving one’s romantic partner resulted in more positive outcomes than did those with casual partners. These results confirm that MSTs can be a satisfying experience particularly for heterosexual males and those participating with a romantic partner. Implications for educators looking to destigmatize various forms of nonmonogamies and for practitioners who intend to assist adults interested in safely exploring multi-person sexual behavior are discussed.

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28 July 2022
A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-022-02373-w

Notes

Additional measures administered in the current study include the General Homonegativity Scale (Morrison et al., 1999), Internalized Homonegativity Inventory (IHNI; Mayfield, 2001), and the Revised Sociosexual Orientation Inventory (SOI-R; Penke, 2011). See our OSF page for all measures used (https://osf.io/47z52/?view_only=31944194573540d69af8abc038f795d8).

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Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota Duluth, 320 Bohannon Hall, 1207 Ordean Court, Duluth, MN, 55812-3010, USA
Ashley E. Thompson, McKenna Osborn, Katie Gooch & Mariah Ravet

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Ashley E. Thompson
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McKenna Osborn
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Katie Gooch
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Mariah Ravet
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The original version of this article was revised: The term “Mixed-Sex” in the title of this article read “Mixed-Gender” in the article as originally published.

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Thompson, A.E., Osborn, M., Gooch, K. et al. An Empirical Investigation of Variations in Outcomes Associated with Heterosexual Adults’ Most Recent Mixed-Sex Threesome Experience. Arch Sex Behav 51, 3021–3031 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-022-02299-3

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Received: 06 August 2021
Revised: 19 January 2022
Accepted: 23 January 2022
Published: 29 June 2022
Issue Date: August 2022
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-022-02299-3

Keywords

Mixed-sex threesomes
Threesomes
Multi-person sex
Sexual satisfaction