Casual dating

Casual dating or a casual relationship is a physical and emotional relationship between two people who may have casual sex or a near-sexual relationship without necessarily demanding or expecting the extra commitments of a more formal romantic relationship. Motives for casual relationships vary. There are significant gender and cultural differences in acceptance of and breadth of casual relationships, as well as in regrets about action/inaction in those relationships.

Casual dating may be part-time, or for a limited time. It may or may not entail partner-exclusivity. In each case, the relationship's dominance in the lives of those involved is being voluntarily limited, and there is usually a sense that the relationship is intended to endure only so long as both parties wish it to. Casual relationships sometimes include mutual support, affection and enjoyment, which underpin other forms of loving relationship.

A casual relationship is sometimes referred to as a "no strings attached" relationship.

A "no strings attached" relationship is most commonly found in young adults such as college students. The shift from childhood to adulthood brings on much exploration in different fields. One of these fields include relationships and sex. This is the time in life where mastery of future life skills is attempted. Grello's study suggests that, in most cases, the same students who lost their virginity in high school lost them in a romantic relationship. After experiencing sexual intercourse, many college students go on to have casual sex with either friends or peers they have been recently or newly acquainted with.

A study published by the Archives of Sexual Behavior reported that sixty percent of college students have participated in a casual relationship. Wayne State University and Michigan State University conducted a similar survey and sixty-six percent of the undergraduates in this study said they had also been in a casual relationship. About half of this sixty-six percent said they were currently in such a relationship.

A casual relationship, unlike a romantic relationship, is very undefined and it is difficult to ascribe norms, scripts, and expectations to it. Rebecca Plante, an associate professor at Ithaca College, has specialized in research on casual relationships, and says that this type of relationship can be beneficial. Casual relationships can establish a "healthy outlet for sexual needs and desires."

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