Unfaithful Partner Research Articles

Direct-proactive communication and the post-infidelity stay-leave decision

ABSTRACT Research at the intersection of infidelity and communication has primarily focused on how partners communicate post-infidelity. However, researchers have yet to investigate whether direct-proactive communication (i.e. having an intentional conversation with one’s partner about attitudes toward infidelity prior to its occurrence) can influence victims’ stay-leave decision-making process in response to the transgression. We conducted two studies (total N = 271) to compare the influence of this communication strategy on people’s anticipated responses to infidelity in hypothetical scenarios, versus people’s actual responses to infidelity that occurred in a past or current relationship. Study 1 results did not reveal a significant association between this strategy and the anticipated stay-leave decision, nor between this strategy and anticipated decision confliction. Study 2 results also failed to reveal a significant association between this strategy and the actual stay-leave decision. However, we did find that particularly among individuals who chose to stay with their unfaithful partner, those who had engaged in direct-proactive communication were significantly more conflicted about staying than those who did not. Exploratory analyses further suggest that although people anticipate direct-proactive communication would greatly influence their choice to stay or leave post-infidelity, it doesn’t seem to matter for those faced with the real decision.

How might we motivate uptake of the Dual Prevention Pill? Findings from human-centered design research with potential end users, male partners, and healthcare providers.

Multipurpose prevention technologies (MPTs) combining contraception with HIV prevention offer a promising solution to uptake and adherence challenges faced with oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). The Dual Prevention Pill (DPP), which combines oral PrEP with an oral contraceptive pill (OCP), could address unmet need for family planning (FP) and HIV prevention. This study aimed to identify barriers and motivators for DPP uptake to inform the development of a DPP demand generation strategy and broader introduction efforts for MPTs. Qualitative, ethnographic research employing human-centered design techniques was conducted in Kenya, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. A research consortium conducted 45 immersions, 34 key informant interviews, and 12 friendship circles with potential end users, male romantic partners, healthcare providers (HCPs), and cultural commentators. Creative concepts were subsequently co-created and validated in workshops with end users, male partners, and HCPs. Four major themes emerged. Women struggled to balance personal motivations with societal expectations. Relationship goals strongly influenced sexual and reproductive health decisions, particularly related to financial security and social status. Negative experiences, such as untrustworthy partners, were significant triggers for OCP and PrEP use. Lastly, male partners were concerned about the DPP upending gender norms but held more positive individual attitudes. Five initial audience segments for the DPP were identified: women seeking enjoyment outside of their primary relationship; new mothers adhering to social norms; women wanting to maintain romantic relationships; women at risk of unintended pregnancy; and women with unfaithful partners. Segments informed the development of three communication themes, with the preferred route highlighting the DPP as a tool to prepare for life's unpredictability. To effectively generate demand for the DPP, several strategies should be considered. Connecting with women's diverse identities and goals and celebrating their individuality is crucial. Linking the DPP to relationship goals reframes it as a means to protect relationships rather than a risk. Leveraging negative triggers through targeted media campaigns empowers women to take control of their sexual health during challenging moments. A balance in channel placement is necessary to raise public awareness while using more discrete channels for potentially controversial messages with male partners and wider communities.

Evaluation of Young People's Knowledge, Attitudes and Behaviour Regarding HIV/AIDS in Isangi, DR Congo

Background: Over 50% of young people between the ages of 15 and 24 are affected by HIV. This state of affairs is destroying youth, threatening the country's future and jeopardizing national development. The aim of this study is to assess the knowledge, attitudes and behaviour of young people in the city of Isangi with regard to HIV/AIDS. Materials and Methods: To collect the data, this descriptive cross-sectional study used a questionnaire administered to a non-probability convenience sample of 70 young people aged 16 to 20. The descriptive analysis enabled us to compare our results with previous work. Results: We observed that the average age of our respondents was 18, with a sex ratio of 1.4 in favor of males. 95% of young people had already heard of AIDS. Over 65% of subjects have acceptable knowledge of the risk of contracting HIV, the route of transmission and condom use. Prevention of mother-to-child transmission and voluntary testing were recognized. 70% of young people agreed to take care of a PLHIV in their family while keeping his or her serostatus secret (75.7%). For 40% of subjects, it is not normal for a woman to refuse to have sex with her unfaithful partner; she can demand a condom. Conclusion: To reduce HIV transmission among young people, an information and education program is needed.

How people react to their Partners' infidelity: An explorative study

AbstractInfidelity is relatively common, with culprits not always been able to keep it secret from their partners. Accordingly, the current research aimed to study people's reactions to their partners' infidelity. More specifically, using qualitative research methods on a sample of 226 Greek‐speaking participants, Study 1 identified 94 possible reactions to infidelity. Study 2 employed quantitative research methods on a sample of 757 Greek‐speaking participants, and classified these reactions into 17 broad factors. Among the most probable reactions, were experiencing negative emotions, terminating the relationship, keeping physical distance from the unfaithful partner, and getting more information about the incident. Significant gender and age effects were found for several of the extracted factors. Using second‐order principal components analysis, the extracted factors were classified into four broader domains. The current research contributes to understanding an important aspect of human mating behavior, and its findings could be used to develop better ways to deal with infidelity.

Comparison of Indirect and Direct Approaches to Identifying an Unfaithful Partner

Infidelity has been operationalized inconsistently across studies, and measurement approaches have been employed that are not ideally suited for addressing the stigmatized and subjective nature of infidelity, thereby limiting the conclusions that can be drawn from this body of literature. In 2016, Thompson and O’Sullivan took a step toward addressing these shortcomings by implementing an indirect measurement approach. We extend their findings using a sample of 465 married and divorced individuals via MTurk. Substantially more participants reported having engaged in infidelity via the indirect approach than the direct approach, and results suggest that—in contrast to findings from direct questioning—similar percentages of men and women engage in self-defined infidelity. Implications for research and clinical practice are provided.

Reactions to and Forgiveness of Infidelity: Exploring Severity, Length of Relationship, Sex, and Previous Experience Effects

Infidelity, actual or suspected, can trigger strong emotional reactions, such as jealousy, which could lead to the dissolution of the relationship. These reactions were predicted to vary with the severity of the infidelity, with the sex of the participant, with previous experience with unfaithful partners, and with the length of the relationship. We employed a sample of 447 Greek-speaking participants who were asked to indicate their reactions in different scenarios of infidelity. We found that more severe acts of infidelity were associated with higher emotional upset and jealousy and lower probability of forgiveness. Moreover, women indicated stronger emotional upset and jealousy than men, but they were more likely to forgive their partners. Furthermore, participants indicated more emotional upset and jealousy if they were in a long-term than in an early-stage relationship. Finally, participants who were older and who had experienced infidelity from their previous partners were more likely to forgive their partners’ infidelity than participants who were younger and who did not have such experience. Our results indicated that several factors determined the severityof the reactions to infidelity.

Health Education Training Embedded in a Microfinance Platform Associated with Safer Sexual Behavior in Haitian Women.

Sexual health education interventions have generally yielded modest impact, but may be more successful when integrated into programs designed to alleviate poverty and empower women. Between December 2017 and February 2018, we interviewed 304 Haitian female microfinance clients, 75 of whom had received health education training delivered within their regular meetings. Participants reported six key sexual health outcomes. We used log-binomial models to estimate the association between health education training and each outcome, and tested for interaction by age and literacy status. Women with health education training reported more condom use with unfaithful partners [PR (95% CI) 1.78 (1.04, 3.02)], more HIV testing [PR (95% CI) 1.56 (1.28, 1.90)], and fewer STI symptoms [PR (95% CI) 0.37 (0.19, 0.73)], compared to women with no training. Some of the associations were stronger among older women [e.g. HIV testing: PR (95% CI) 2.09 (1.49, 2.82)] and illiterate women [e.g. condom use: PR (95% CI) 3.46 (1.05, 11.38)]. These findings add to the growing body of evidence demonstrating the potential to use microfinance programs as platforms for health education delivery, and provide the first evidence for the association in Haiti.

Sexual unfaithfulness can be judged with some accuracy from men's but not women's faces.

We routinely make judgements of trustworthiness from the faces of others. However, the accuracy of such judgements remains contentious. An important context for trustworthiness judgements is sexual unfaithfulness. Accuracy in sexual unfaithfulness judgements may be adaptive for avoiding reproductive costs associated with having an unfaithful partner. Indeed, emerging studies suggest that women, and to a lesser degree, men, show above-chance accuracy in judging sexual unfaithfulness from opposite-sex faces. In the context of mate guarding, it is important not only to assess the likelihood of a partner defecting, but also to detect same-sex poachers. Therefore, here, we examine whether individuals can also judge sexual unfaithfulness (self-reported cheating and poaching behaviour) from same-sex faces. We found above-chance accuracy in judgements of unfaithfulness from same-sex faces in men but not women. Conversely, we found above-chance accuracy for opposite-sex faces in women but not men. Therefore, both men and women showed above-chance accuracy, but only for men's, and not women's, faces. Raters were making accurate (above-chance) judgements of unfaithfulness from men's faces using facial masculinity, a well-established signal of propensity to adopt short-term mating strategies. In summary, we found above-chance accuracy in impressions of unfaithfulness from men's faces. Although very modest, the level of accuracy could nevertheless have biological significance as an evolved adaptation for identifying potential cheaters/poachers.

The Flexibility of Fertility Preferences in a Context of Uncertainty.

The Flexibility of Fertility Preferences in a Context of Uncertainty.

‘Relive the passion, find your affair’: Revising the infidelity script online

Affairs websites such as Victoria Milan, Gleeden or Illicit Encounters are the latest in a long line of commercial online ventures offering different kinds of intimacy. While online dating sites have long been used as a covert way to find additional partners or extramarital intimacy, recent years have seen an increase in the variety of new media services explicitly targeted at unfaithful partners. However, as the July 2015 hacking (and subsequent media coverage) of well-known affairs site, Ashley Madison, showed, the status of these sites is still contested and the services they offer still highly provocative. With this in mind, this article explores the intersection of new media and the contested form of intimacy often referred to as ‘infidelity’. In this article, I analyse material from four websites offering non-consensual non-monogamies to examine how they are attempting to change the cultural script of infidelity through a combination of content and material affordances. To do so, I draw on the idea of intimacy as a kind of organizing ‘public’ narrative that determines ‘private’ acts of intimacy (Berlant, 2000).

PI3K and AKT: Unfaithful Partners in Cancer.

The phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/AKT signaling pathway regulates multiple cellular processes. An overactivation of the pathway is frequently present in human malignancies and plays a key role in cancer progression. Hence, its inhibition has become a promising approach in cancer therapy. However, the development of resistances, such as the abrogation of negative feedback mechanisms or the activation of other proliferative signaling pathways, has considerably limited the anticancer efficacy of PI3K/AKT inhibitors. In addition, emerging evidence points out that although AKT is acknowledged as the major downstream effector of PI3K, both PI3K and AKT can operate independently of each other in cancer, revealing another level of complexity in this pathway. Here, we highlight the complex relationship between PI3K and AKT in cancer and further discuss the consequences of this relationship for cancer therapy.

Extradyadic Sex and its Predictors in Homo- and Heterosexuals.

Infidelity appears to be a common phenomenon. Although there are initially positive consequences for the unfaithful partner, it has negative impacts on individuals, the relationship and health in the long-term. How often are extradyadic sexual contacts indicated within a German sample? Which factors predict infidelity? Via Internet (n=1 899) socio-demographic, individual (attitudes towards infidelity, religiosity), relationship (global and emotional relationship satisfaction, length of primary relationship, sexual agreements), and contextual factors (opportunities) were surveyed. The results of the regression analysis on an 80% subsample (n=1 533) were cross-validated with the remaining 20% of the data (n=366). The analysis showed that 4% of lesbian women, 34% of gay men, 29% of heterosexual women and 49% of heterosexual men reported extra-dyadic sexual contacts. Sexual orientation and restrictive attitudes towards monogamy and infidelity were found to be significant predictors. Low global relationship satisfaction, longer duration of primary relationship, non-monogamous relationships, availability of alternative sexual partners and ways to conceal infidelity increased the likelihood of extradyadic involvement. Cross-validation with 20% of the data (n=366) confirmed the stability of the regression model. Future research should examine identified predictors using representative population-based data. Predictors should be considered in therapy.

Psychotherapeutic Considerations for Working with Betrayed Spouses: A Four-task Recovery Model

The treatment of infidelity is one of the most challenging and misunderstood aspects of marital therapy, with therapists frequently making treatment decisions based on faulty assumptions. By too quickly trying to ‘fix’ the marriage or by assuming that the betrayed spouse contributed to the unfaithful partner's infidelity, the therapeutic process can inadvertently re-traumatise an already emotionally fragile client, while not addressing his or her emotional needs. This paper addresses therapeutic considerations for working with the betrayed partner, and provides practical guidelines for addressing the psychological and emotional needs of a betrayed client. A grounded theory model of the recovery path for betrayed partners is presented, as well as suggestions for further research.

The cost of forgiveness: Observers prefer victims who leave unfaithful romantic partners

AbstractNinety‐six male fraternity members (Study 1), 112 female voters (Study 2), and 219 undergraduates (Study 3) read scenarios in which a group representative forgave, retaliated, or left a romantic partner after the partner's sexual infidelity was publically revealed. Observers rated a victim who forgave his or her partner to be as mature as a victim who ended the relationship, but also as weaker and less competent. They rated a victim who forgave to be more mature but almost as weak and incompetent as a victim who retaliated. Symbolic concerns that the victim's behavior violated shared values (all three studies) or damaged the group's power/status (Study 3) mediated the relationship between victim behavior and victim ratings. These data demonstrate how the symbolic concerns that shape observers' judgments of an offender can extend to observers' judgments of the victim. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Jealousy in response to online and offline infidelity: the role of sex and sexual orientation

The goal of the present study was to examine the emotional content and intensity of jealousy in response to different types of infidelity (both online and offline unfaithful partner behaviors) among Dutch heterosexuals (n = 191) and homosexuals (n = 121). Based on previous research (Dijkstra, Barelds & Groothof, 2010), participants were presented with ten jealousy-evoking situations following which the intensity of two different emotional aspects of jealousy was assessed (betrayal/anger and threat). Results showed that scenarios describing a partner having sex with someone else or falling in love with someone else primarily evoked betrayal/anger-related jealousy, whereas scenarios describing an emotional connection between a partner and someone else primarily evoked threat-related jealousy. In addition, women experienced more jealousy than men in response to scenarios in which a partner engaged in potentially extra-dyadic online (but not offline) behaviors. Finally, compared to same-sex heterosexuals, homosexuals, both male and female, responded with less intense jealousy to scenarios describing a partner having sex with someone else. Implications for the treatment of (internet) infidelity are discussed.

Therapy for couples after an affair: A randomized-controlled trial

To examine the efficacy of a couples treatment approach for promoting recovery from a recently disclosed affair, 89 couples that disclosed an affair by one of the partners in the past 6 months were randomly assigned to treatment (n = 46) or to a control group that waited about 3 months for treatment (n = 43). The couples completed self-report measures (Beck Depression Inventory, Impact of Event Scale-Revised, Partnership Questionnaire) at pre- and post-treatment. Since about half of the couples dropped out for various reasons (e.g., ongoing affair, separation), we used multiple imputations to handle the missing data problem. We analyzed the dyadic data with hierarchical linear modeling in a two-level model. Significant improvements on scores of anxiety corresponded with large effect sizes for both partners. Yet significant improvements on depression scores were only found for the unfaithful partner with moderate effect size. Results suggest that the treatment can improve individual complaints, but not relationship satisfaction in a sufficient amount for both partners. Hence, future research should address how this intervention could encourage couples to maintain therapy, and how they might achieve more and sustained improvement in relationship satisfaction.

Unfaithful Individuals are Less Likely to Practice Safer Sex Than Openly Nonmonogamous Individuals

Given the prevalence and harm of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), there is a need to examine safer sex strategies in the context of romantic relationships and extradyadic sexual encounters. Sexual infidelity is associated with a variety of detrimental psychosocial outcomes; however, little research has addressed the sexual health ramifications of sexually unfaithful partners and members of other high-risk nonmonogamous lifestyles. To determine whether sexually unfaithful individuals or "negotiated nonmonogamous" individuals are more likely to engage in sexual health risk reduction behaviors during extradyadic encounters and with their primary partner. Data were collected via an anonymous Internet-based study. Several hundred sexually unfaithful individuals and individuals with a negotiated nonmonogamy agreement completed a sexual health questionnaire. Self-reported measures of risk reduction behaviors within the primary relationship and risk reduction behaviors during the extradyadic encounter were assessed. Sexually unfaithful participants demonstrated significantly lower rates of protective sexual health behaviors both within their primary partnerships and during their extradyadic sexual encounters. Sexually unfaithful participants were also less likely to engage in frequent STI testing, and less likely to discuss safer sex concerns with new partners. These data add to the literature on the negative effects of sexual unfaithfulness. Understanding rates of nonengagement in safer sex strategies will be helpful to those who lead efforts to increase condom use and other preventive STI measures.

Changes in HIV risk behavior and seroincidence among clients presenting for repeat HIV counseling and testing in Moshi, Tanzania

While HIV counseling and testing (HCT) has been considered an HIV preventive measure in Africa, data are limited describing behavior changes following HCT. This study evaluated behavior changes and estimated HIV seroincidence rate among returning HCT clients. Repeat and one-time testing clients receiving HCT services in Moshi, Tanzania were identified. Information about sociodemographic characteristics, HIV-related behaviors and testing reasons were collected, along with HIV serostatus. Six thousand seven hundred and twenty-seven clients presented at least once for HCT; 1235 (18.4%) were HIV seropositive, median age was 29.7 years and 3712 (55.3%) were women. 1382 repeat and 4272 one-time testers were identified. Repeat testers were more likely to be male, older, married, or widowed, and testing because of unfaithful partner or new sexual partner. One-time testers were more likely to be students and testing due to illness. At second test, repeat testers were more likely to report that partners had received HIV testing, not have concurrent partners, not suspect partners have HIV, and have partners who did not have other partners. Clients who intended to change behaviors after the first test were more likely to report having changed behaviors by remaining abstinent (OR 2.58; p<0.0001) or using condoms (OR 2.00; p=0.006) at the second test. HIV seroincidence rate was 1.49 cases/100 person-years (PY). Clients presenting for repeat HCT reported some reduction of risky behavior and improved knowledge of sexual practices and HIV serostatus of their partners. Promoting behavior change through HCT should continue to be a focus of HIV prevention efforts in sub-Saharan Africa.

HIV Awareness and Risk Behavior among Pregnant Women in Mateete, Uganda (2010)

Background. The aim of the study was to evaluate current knowledge, risk behavior, and attitudes among pregnant women in Mateete, Uganda. Methods. We collected 100 questionnaires and performed 20 interviews among women who attended antenatal care. Findings. All the women had heard about HIV/AIDS, and 92% were aware of mother-to-child transmission. The women overestimated the risk of achieving the virus since 45% believed in transmission by mosquitoes and 44% by kissing. Many pointed out that married women as a group were infected more often because of unfaithful partners who refused to use condoms during sex. Conclusion. The women were well aware of the routes of HIV transmission. Schools and governmental campaigns have played an important role in educating people about the disease but there is still a great need to reach out to people in rural areas with both health care and correct information.

What A Sparrow Bib Can Reveal

Abstract It has long been known that male House Sparrows (Passer domesticus) with a large bib dominate other sparrows with smaller bibs. Also during the breeding season females prefer males with large badges, as the bib is also called, even though these males show more sexual interest in other females than males with smaller bibs (Møller 1987). But why do females prefer an unfaithful partner? Is it because of his large bib, or is the answer more complex?