Friends with benefits too good to be true?

• October 24, 2007
  
  
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  The Friends with Benefits Relationship (FWBR) might seem like the perfect state of affairs, but may not turn out to be as rewarding as it seems, according to a recent study.
  
  Barbara Jastran, clinical counsellor at Gannett Health Services, explained the appeal of the FWBR.
  
  She said: "Getting physically and not emotionally involved can be appealing because often, it takes work and time and involves emotional vulnerability to develop and maintain a healthy relationship.
  
  "Some people who engage in 'friends with benefits' feel that they may be able to have sex and have it not be more than that."
  
  However, a recent study of 125 young men and women conducted by Melissa Bisson of Wayne State University and Professor Michael Levine of Michigan State University found that a massive 60 per cent of respondents admitted to being involved in a FWBR in the past.
  
  But only ten per cent of these said that their FWBR evolved into a romantic relationship while a third claimed they eventually stopped having sex and remained friends and around a quarter actually had to put an end to the friendship.
  
  Experts argue that people in an FWBR often end up feeling used and emotions always get involved, meaning that those involved run the risk of getting hurt.
  
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