Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
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Relationship satisfaction and outcome in women who meet their partner while using oral contraception

S. Craig Roberts

S. Craig Roberts

School of Natural Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, UK

[email protected]

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Kateřina Klapilová

Kateřina Klapilová

Department of Anthropology, Charles University, Husnikova 2075, 158 00 Prague 13, Czech Republic

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Anthony C. Little

Anthony C. Little

School of Natural Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, UK

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Robert P. Burriss

Robert P. Burriss

School of Natural Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, UK

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Benedict C. Jones

Benedict C. Jones

School of Psychology, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB24 3FX, UK

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Lisa M. DeBruine

Lisa M. DeBruine

School of Psychology, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB24 3FX, UK

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Marion Petrie

Marion Petrie

Institute for Ageing and Health, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE4 5PL, UK

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Jan Havlíček

Jan Havlíček

Department of Anthropology, Charles University, Husnikova 2075, 158 00 Prague 13, Czech Republic

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    Hormonal variation over the menstrual cycle alters women's preferences for phenotypic indicators of men's genetic or parental quality. Hormonal contraceptives suppress these shifts, inducing different mate preference patterns among users and non-users. This raises the possibility that women using oral contraception (OC) choose different partners than they would do otherwise but, to date, we know neither whether these laboratory-measured effects are sufficient to exert real-world consequences, nor what these consequences would be. Here, we test for differences in relationship quality and survival between women who were using or not using OC when they chose the partner who fathered their first child. Women who used OC scored lower on measures of sexual satisfaction and partner attraction, experienced increasing sexual dissatisfaction during the relationship, and were more likely to be the one to initiate an eventual separation if it occurred. However, the same women were more satisfied with their partner's paternal provision, and thus had longer relationships and were less likely to separate. These effects are congruent with evolutionary predictions based on cyclical preference shifts. Our results demonstrate that widespread use of hormonal contraception may contribute to relationship outcome, with implications for human reproductive behaviour, family cohesion and quality of life.

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