Monogamy is considered the romantic norm for establishing family and kinship. Alternative relationships such as polyfidelity, that is, a group romantic relationship, often face prejudice and social stigma resulting in a greater need for mental health counseling services compared to those who are not stigmatized. Yet counselors and counselor educators lack both understanding and cultural competency for serving this population. The purpose of this study was to better understand the dynamics of a polyfidelity relationship, as well as how a counselor might better serve the needs of individuals engaged in this type of relationship. In this study, 14 participants described what it was like to be in a polyfidelitous relationship. A combined theoretical framework-based on relational cultural theory, social constructionism, and queer theory was used to reveal the challenges, as well as the strengths, of such a relationship. It was discovered that there are an exponential number of relationship combinations when introducing an additional member into an existing 2-person relationship. As a result the relational component in counseling becomes compounded. For example, a 3-person relationship has 4 unique relationships, a 4-person relationship has 11 unique relationships, and a 5-person relationship has 26 unique relationship combinations. In addition, members of group relationships often use their group dynamics to check and balance one another, resolve conflict, and better express aspects of each partner's personality. The implications for social change are multifold in both furthering mental health professional's understanding of alternative families, as well as identifying the advantages and pitfalls of engaging in a polyfidelitous relationship.

Denna kvalitativa studie undersöker emotionshantering och känsloregler i polyamorösa förhållanden. Polyamorösa utsätter sig för situationer där emotionshantering med största sannolikhet är av vikt, där svartsjuka samt emotionen compersion (även kallad medglädje) kan uppstå, och har därmed upplevelse av att hantera svartsjuka och compersion som är värdefull att undersöka. Studiens forskningsfrågor var 1) Hur den polyamorösa personen har lärt sig om polyamorösa sociala normer och förväntningar gällande emotioner svartsjuka och compersion i parrelationer, 2) Hur den polyamorösa personen själv hanterar emotioner av svartsjuka och compersion i sina relationer Samt 3) Vilka förebilder personen har gällande hanteringar av emotioner svartsjuka och compersion, samt och hur utvärderar hon sina egna erfarenheter. Den teoretiska ramen i studien är baserad på teorin om social identitet samt privata emotionella system. Materialet samlades med hjälp av semi-strukturerade djupintervjuer med fem polyamorösa kvinnor, där det sedan användes en tematisk analysmetod. Resultatet visade att den polyamorösa personen lär sig känsloreglerna i den polyamorösa kontexten genom att interagera med andra med samma sociala identitet (antingen genom sin partner eller genom socialisationsarenor såsom sociala medier), samt att dessa normer påvisar kommunikationsfaktorn som en viktig norm som hjälper den polyamorösa individen i sin emotionshantering. Denna norm menar flera respondenter är någonting som fungerar för dem i deras egen emotionshantering, och när de uppfyller den här normen leder det till att de utvärderar sina erfarenheter av emotionerna svartsjuka och compersion som goda. Däremot underströk flera respondenter att de inte hade några förebilder att jämföra sig med, utan jämförelser sker i störst utsträckning med den större monogama gemenskapen. / This qualitative study examines emotion management and emotion rules in polyamorous relationships. Polyamorous people are exposed to situations where emotion management is most likely important, where jealousy and the emotion compersion can occur, and thus have experience of dealing with jealousy and compersion that is valuable to investigate. The research questions of the study were 1) How the polyamorous person has learned about polyamorous social norms and expectations regarding emotions jealousy and compersion in couple relationships, 2) How the polyamorous person herself handles emotions of jealousy and compersion in their relationships, and 3) What role models the person has regarding management of emotions jealousy and compersion, as well as and how she evaluates her own experiences. The theoretical framework of the study is based on the theory of social identity and private emotional systems. The material was collected using semi-structured in-depth interviews with five polyamorous women, where then a thematic analysis method was used. The results showed that the polyamorous person learns the emotional rules in the polyamorous context by interacting with others with the same social identity (either through their partner or through socialization arenas such as social media), and that these norms demonstrate the communication factor as an important norm that helps the polyamorous individual in their emotion management. This norm, several respondents believe, is something that works for them in their own emotion management, and when they meet this norm, it leads them to evaluate their experiences of the emotions such as jealousy and compersion as very good. On the other hand, several respondents emphasized that they had no role models to compare themselves with, but that comparisons are made to the greatest extent with the larger monogamous community.