Sexual Infidelity and Changes in Psychological Distress among Married and Cohabiting Young Adults

• In Event: 220 - Section on the Sociology of the Family Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 10. Family and Relationship Satisfaction

Abstract

Sexual infidelity in committed unions is a major relationship violation and breach of trust, but estimates suggest that nearly a quarter of individuals in cohabiting and marital unions experience infidelity where they or their partner have another sexual partner. While many individuals leave unions in the wake of sexual infidelity, a substantial majority stay with their partners. Theories of social stress suggest that this should result in substantial psychological distress unless infidelity is a symptom of the stress caused by involvement in a relationship marked by other negative characteristics. The current study investigates how one’s own infidelity and partner infidelity is related to two indicators of psychological distress, changes in depressive symptoms and heavy alcohol use. Analyses of data from married and cohabiting individuals in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) suggest that one’s own infidelity is associated with changes in heavy alcohol use among cohabiters and spouses and with depressive symptoms among spouses, while partner infidelity has no significant association with psychological distress net of confounders. We discuss the meaning and implications of these findings in the study’s conclusions.

Authors

• Marin Wenger, Pennsylvania State University

• Michelle Frisco, Pennsylvania State University