A new form of friendship among young adults in Poland: Identification of the friends with benefits phenomenon

Close friendship is one of the most fundamental issues in psychology. It is a universal relationship in terms of which it is possible to describe every human being, since every individual engages in it. The quality of close friendship relationships is one of the essential conditions of mental health. A close friendship generates space in which to fulfill the most fundamental human needs. The aim of this empirical study was to identify a new form of close interpersonal relationship, called “friend with benefits” and defined as friends having sexual relations. The results of the empirical study allow us to explore this phenomenon, discuss differences in the quality and intensity of the friends with benefits relationship between men and women, and draw some important conclusions.