David L. Rodrigues

[David L. Rodrigues @DLRodrigues]

Proud to be part of this amazing team, led by friend @justin_mogilski ❤️

[Justin Mogilski @justin_mogilski]

It’s taken a while, but I’m proud to announce that our manuscript...

“How do people maintain consensual non-monogamy? An international development and validation of the Multiple Relationships Maintenance Scale (MRMS)”

...has been accepted for publication in @ArchSexBehav.

If you’ve been following my work, you know that this is a big deal. I’ve talked about this data a lot. My best public interview was probably with @ChrisWillx, but I only had an incomplete and unreviewed preprint to support my claims.

Well, here’s the full thing: https://t.co/ST0jdU6Iuh
--

We collected data from ~5000 people across sixty-two countries who reported either only one (i.e., monogamous) or more than one (i.e., non-monogamous) romantic, sexual, or otherwise intimate relationship(s). Our aim was to characterize how people “do” consensual non-monogamy (CNM), where all partners are aware of and agree to have multiple relationships.

If you look at the majority of published scientific research on people who have multiple relationships (regardless of whether partners consent), you see a fairly ugly landscape: having multiple partners is related to relationship instability, competitiveness and conflict among partners, poor mental health, and worse family functioning.

However, the last two decades of research on CNM paints a different picture: one where partners are highly communicative, committed, intimate, and passionate, they encourage autonomy and agency in one another, they precaution against sexually transmitted infection, and they form supportive and enduring families to raise children.

Before I started this project, this paradox in the data confused me. My training in evolutionary psychology (and my personal experience) led me to expect that negative experiences, like jealousy and competition, were unavoidable. Sure, you could ignore them, but at what torture to yourself?

I first attempted to address this paradox by testing some evolutionary predictions in CNM samples. I was partially successful (and in some cases, not at all!).

Here, I looked at mate retention in these relationships: https://t.co/yElteLgOdY

And here, I looked at jealousy (and replicated the mate retention findings): https://t.co/QJiX3Fqilq

Still, I didn’t have a clear sense of why or how people in CNM relationships appear to make it work (though, in these first papers I outlined theorywork that has followed me to this day).

Then, in 2020 I published an article attempting to thread a needle: https://t.co/PCyy3spK2Z

My hypothesis was: compared to just anybody who wants to have multiple relationships, people practicing CNM are handling multiple relationships in a particular manner; one that reduces at least some of the usual risks and challenges. That is, maybe people in these relationships are doing things to precaution against threats like partner abandonment, competitive rivalry, sexual health risk, conflict over childcare, and damage to reputation. I wrote about this in the chapter I published in my handbook: https://t.co/Jn65NQG1zi

Well, the reason that this current paper is a big deal? It presents the data and logic to support this explanation, summarized into ~90 pages :)

This is the flagship manuscript, and so it is very detailed about the full dataset. Which is huge! There are many other manuscripts being written using this data. So, keep your eyes open.

I’m glad this is out of my hands now. Thank you to my immense and brilliant team. This was only possible through their combined efforts.

Critique is welcome, and expect more soon.

@gmiller, Peter Jonason, Katarzyna Grunt-Mejer, @jarkaVarella, @RhondaBalzarini, @DLRodrigues, @DrEliSheff, @LaithAlShawaf, @CsajbokZsofia, @DrThomasAG, @tamasdb, Cezar Giosan, Daniel Kruger, @DrDavidLey, @JustinLehmiller, @DrSchechinger, Amy Moors, @StefanoCiaffoni, Leif Edward Ottesen Kennair, Stephen Whyte, @zuzansterbova, Klara Bártová, Ryan Witherspoon, Magdalena Żemojtel-Piotrowska, Pavol Prokop, Virgil Zeigler-Hill, @PsychoSchmitt, Adil Saribay, Magdalena Lipnicka, Ivana Goláňová, Ezra Hampikian, @CostelloWilliam, @thatgirlevolved, Cory Cascalheira, and @MichelleLarva.

[David L. Rodrigues @DLRodrigues]

Very proud to be member of the of the Gender and Rights Advisory Panel (GAP) of the @HRPresearch at the @WHO
New adventures await!

@SocioDigitalLab

[David L. Rodrigues @DLRodrigues]

Using a latent profile analysis, we identified three distinct profiles of individuals who are single in the US and Portugal. Check it out!

https://t.co/ihO8f17yRH

[T&F Medicine & Healthcare @tandfmedicine]

📈 Currently #Altmetric trending!

Made #OpenAccess until the end of May 2025, this article challenges the assumption that relationship and sexual satisfaction are heightened for those in monogamous relationships.

🔓 Read on here: https://t.co/anONwqziF5

[David L. Rodrigues @DLRodrigues]

What an honor to be part of this meeting!

[HRP @HRPresearch]

Beyond proud to be hosting HRP's annual meeting of our gender and rights advisory panel at WHO in Geneva.

Since 1995, the panel has gathered to advise on all aspects of our work w/attn to gender equality and rights.

This is important and essential work.

[David L. Rodrigues @DLRodrigues]

What an honor!

[Journal of Personal Relationships @JoPerRel]

Congratulations to Dr. David Rodrigues on being one of Personal Relationships Top 10 Reviewers of 2024. Dr. Rodrigues is an Assistant Researcher with Habilitation and Vice-Director of CIS-Iscte in Lisbon, Portugal.

[David L. Rodrigues @DLRodrigues]

📢 new paper out!

In two experiments, gender nonconforming targets tended to be stigmatized in several outcomes, but having more frequent and positive personal contact helped buffer this bias.

Check out my paper here: https://t.co/Ex4MPWmkPl
@JoSoPerRel @ISCTEIUL

[David L. Rodrigues @DLRodrigues]

Family and friend support is key to healthier non-monogamous relationships
see our work features on @psypost !
@RhondaBalzarini @ACMoors @TBrooks_SexPsy @Sex_Science

https://t.co/MzLkutpfuQ

[SH:24 @sh24_nhs]

This week is Sexual Health Week 💜

@BrookCharity are talking all about the important links between mental health and sexual health through a wide range of resources and insights.

To find out more, check out https://t.co/BpwbUj0u2H ⬇️ #AreYouFeelingIt #SHW2024

[David L. Rodrigues @DLRodrigues]

This paper was also featured in a news piece by Luisa Oliveira for Revista Visão (PT only)
https://t.co/TLnG121xcP

[David L. Rodrigues @DLRodrigues]

Proud to have our research on consensual non-monogamy published at the Journal of sex Research 💕

[Dr. Cynthia Graham @cygraham_graham]

Just published: Perceived Social Support Buffers the Consequences of Internalized Negativity Among Individuals in Consensual Non-Monogamous Relationships @DLRodrigues @RhondaBalzarini @ACMoors @kinseyinstitute @Sex_Science
https://t.co/7lyw4yKuTO

[David L. Rodrigues @DLRodrigues]

@motherb_coded damn!! You made me very happy just now ❤️

[David L. Rodrigues @DLRodrigues]

Discussões importantes a ter enquanto sociedade. Orgulho em ter a Ecem como minha aluna de doutoramento.
@ISCTEIUL @fct_pt

https://t.co/Jrd7EsfdZA

[Giulia Zoppolat @zoppolat]

Thanks @JoSoPerRel! This paper wouldn't have been possible without the efforts of 12 labs in 10 countries. A beautiful example of team science! @righettifra @RhondaBalzarini @_maalfe @betulurganci @DLRodrigues @johankarremans @RelationScience & other lovely twitterless coauthors

[SH:24 @sh24_nhs]

Yesterday the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) published the official government statistics and data on STIs.

So, what does it tell us? ⬇️

[David L. Rodrigues @DLRodrigues]

Check here: https://t.co/Jnsja6cVMB

[David L. Rodrigues @DLRodrigues]

Proud to have published our paper in the #JSexResearch #SexScience #SSSS @Sex_Science
@RhondaBalzarini
1/2

[Dr. Cynthia Graham @cygraham_graham]

Issue 5 of #JSexResearch is now online with articles by @tiffmarcantonio @ozgetweets @L_JamesHawkins @DLRodrigues @Neooology @RhondaBalzarini @VWongsomboon @kmoilanen @vincengyu @ASU_OGBV
@kinseyinstitute @Sex_Science
https://t.co/HFNOR7o9F9

[The Pleasure Project @thepleasureproj]

Exciting news! 🚀💫 with @mysexualhealth we are launching a free #course on Pleasure-Based Sexual Health. This free course is for healthcare providers, educators, and activists. Earn 6 CPD points on us!
Enrol for free today ✍️https://t.co/dHtRbxSYVZ

[David L. Rodrigues @DLRodrigues]

Very happy for this one! @TBrooks_SexPsy @RhondaBalzarini @ACMoors

[Archives of Sexual Behavior @ArchSexBehav]

Online first in Archives of Sexual Behavior by Rodrigues et al. (2024): Examining the Role of Mononormative Beliefs, Stigma, and Internalized Consensual Non-Monogamy Negativity for Dehumanization
https://t.co/WFSXbgWq3W
@TheIASR @ZUCKERKJ