Whether it’s a one-night stand or a drawn-out affair, cheating has been the heartbreaking downfall of many relationships.
But scientist ssay there is more than one way for someone to be unfaithful to their partner.
In an analysis of more than 300 studies, researchers from Stony Brook University found three distinct forms of infidelity – most of which don’t involve any sexual activity at all.
In addition to sex, cheaters might be guilty of ‘electronic infidelity’ by sexting or taking part in online relationships.
Partners also can cheat by forming deep emotional bonds with someone outside of their relationship.
This form of adultery was found to be even more common than sexual cheating, with 35 per cent of men and 30 per cent of women admitting to ‘romantic infidelity’.
The researchers warn that this could lead to a situation where partners have very different ideas about what counts as cheating.
Lead author Dr Benjamin says: ‘For the average person, this underscores the importance of clear communication in romantic relationships about boundaries and exclusivity expectations.’
ROMANTIC INFIDELITY: Dave Grohl (right) recently admitted to cheating on his wife Jordyn Blum (left) and fathering a secret baby with another woman. Researchers say that forming deep emotional relationships with someone other than your partner is a common and particularly harmful form of infidelity which does not always include any sexual behaviour
As simple as cheating might appear, scientists have found that definitions and understandings of infidelity can vary widely.
In a meta-analysis of research on the subject of infidelity, the researchers collected 305 different papers which contained data on infidelity rates.
The resulting data set contained interviews and surveys of more than 500,000 people and provided new insight into the different forms of cheating.
Of those surveyed, 25 per cent of men and 14 per cent of women admitted to having been sexually unfaithful.
However, Dr Warach and his colleagues, in their paper published in Personal Relationships, write: ‘Forms of infidelity that include nonsexual components are at least as prevalent, if not more prevalent, than infidelity that is purely sexual in nature.’
Electronic cheating, which includes behaviour such as online flirting or engaging in sexual conversations over the internet, was admitted to by 23 per cent of men and 14 per cent of women.
According to the study, this has only become more common in recent years as social media use and digital technologies have become more pervasive.
Likewise, twice as many women admitted to having been romantically unfaithful as having had a sexual relationship with someone other than their partner.
SEXUAL INFIDELITY: Kevin Hart (right) admitted to having had sexual relations with another woman while his wife Eniko Parrish Hart (left) was pregnant. Sexual activity outside of the relationship is the most recognisable and most studied form of infidelity but researchers say it may not be the most frequent
Despite how common these forms of adultery were found to be, they were also the most overlooked by researchers.
Only 9.5 per cent of the studies included in the meta-analysis concerned emotional infidelity while electronic infidelity was featured in just 5.6 per cent.
What makes this particularly problematic is that both digital and emotional cheating can be just as, if not more, harmful than sexual forms of infidelity.
The researchers point out that a partner may feel more betrayed to find their partner has a long-term romantic relationship than they would to learn about a momentary indiscretion.
Yet the data collected in this analysis also points to a surprising lack of taboos surrounding non-sexual forms of cheating.
Previous research shows that people are much more likely to admit to sexual infidelity when they are anonymous than during in-person or telephone interviews.
However, when discussing romantic infidelity there was no difference between anonymous and in-person methods.
The researchers write: ‘The absence of this finding for emotional infidelity aligns with research suggesting that it is less stigmatized than sexual infidelity.’
ELECTRONIC INFIDELITY: Former footballer and BBC Sport presenter Jermaine Jenas (left) admitted sending inappropriate texts to women at the BBC while married to Ellie Penfold (right). This form of infidelity has become more common due to the rise of social media and can involve online flirting, engaging in sexual conversations, or exchanging explicit images
Combined with a lack of communication over what counts as infidelity, this could lead to serious relationship issues.
Speaking to PsyPost, Dr Warach says: ‘Research has previously shown that individuals have widely varying perceptions of what these terms mean.
‘What one person considers “infidelity” might differ from their partner’s understanding.’
However, the problem of defining infidelity not only affects partners in their relationships but also scientists attempting to understand the psychology of cheating.
Out of the 305 papers studied, around 30 per cent used extremely vague terms such as ‘cheated’ or ‘been unfaithful’.
This leaves it ambiguous as to whether the infidelity in question was sexual, electronic, or emotional in nature.
Dr Warach concludes: ‘Our study shows that inconsistent definitions and measurement methods contribute to confusion about romantic infidelity prevalence in the research literature.
‘This is a major problem for our research field.’
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .
