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Rules in Friends with Benefits Relationships in Established Adulthood

Lisa J. van Raalte & Leah E. LeFebvre

Western Journal of Communication2026https://doi.org/10.1080/10570314.2026.2618785article
ABDC C
Weight
0.50

What the paper says

Guided by communication privacy management theory, this study examined rules in a friends with benefits relationship for established adults (30–55 years old). The most common rules from the sample (N = 240) included prevention of overlapping lives (i.e. cannot meet family) and the presentation of the relationship (i.e. keep the relationship a secret). Explicit rules were associated with greater relationship satisfaction, intimacy, and trust as compared to implicit or no rules. Rule specificity (i.e. explicit, implicit, no rules) did not impact commitment, love, passion, or sexual satisfaction. These findings offer unique insights into casual sex relationships for a non-college-aged population.

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Cite this paper

https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/10570314.2026.2618785

Or copy a formatted citation

@article{lisa2026,
  title        = {{Rules in Friends with Benefits Relationships in Established Adulthood}},
  author       = {Lisa J. van Raalte & Leah E. LeFebvre},
  journal      = {Western Journal of Communication},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/10570314.2026.2618785},
}

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Rules in Friends with Benefits Relationships in Established Adulthood

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Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.