Drinking, Smoking Habits Attract Short-Term Relationships For Men

Men who drink and smoke are more likely appealing to women as short-term relationship partners, compared to those who do not. According to a study, this preference is responsible for  the continued existence of these dangerous behaviors.

Young men are found to have the potential to engage  in risky behaviors related to the use of alcohol and tobacco, although a majority of young adults are fully aware of the consequences of such. Also found through the study is the findings that while women find the risk-taking men as attractive and ideal for a short-term affair, they prefer the risk-avoidant men more in terms of building long-lasting relationships, according to Ask Men.

This shows that men tend to take habits that are risky to their health, like drinking and smoking, due to the reproductive edge of increased chances of temporary mating, prevailing over the long-term effects of the occurrence of some diseases like cancer. A sampling of 239 women determined if their perceptions on those habits matched the hypothesis of evolutionary psychology.

The drinking and smoking habits of men were described randomly as heavy, moderate or low, and women placed their ratings in the aspects of riskiness and wellness.  Also, the women rated how appealing they found these men as temporary and long-lasting relationship partners.

In addition to this, the women rated the men as more appealing in terms of temporary relationship partners when they were presented as occasional or heavy drinkers and smokers, compared with the non-drinkers and non-smokers. The women in the study rated the risky drinking and smoking behaviors as strong benchmarks of the men's risk-taking personality, relationship preferences and wellness. On the other hand, women preferred the non-smokers while finding heavy drinkers as less appealing for long-term relationships  compared to the non-drinker.

The results of the study proved that the emphasis on the damaging physical effects of alcohol and tobacco just  to avoid unhealthy behaviors may not be effective as it could even become counterproductive, according to EVP.