Likelihood of break-up following imagined sexual or emotional infidelity: The contribution of perceived threat, attribution of blame, and forgiveness

Likelihood of break-up following imagined sexual or emotional infidelity: The contribution of perceived threat, attribution of blame, and forgiveness. Trond Viggo Grøntvedt, Leif Edward Ottesen Kennair, Mons Bendixen. Human Behavior and Evolution Society 31st annual meeting. Boston 2019. http://tiny.cc/aa1w6y

Abstract: Infidelity is a major threat to relationships, often resulting in the dissolution of the dyad. Despite this, the process from infidelity to potential break-up is not well understood. In this study we examined factors affecting the likelihood of break-up following partner’s imagined infidelity. Coupled women and men (N = 92 + 92) responded individually to questionnaires concerning hypothetical infidelity scenarios (sexual and emotional). Measurements included relationship quality, threat of transgression to the current relationship, attribution of blame, forgiveness (operationalized as keeping distance and wanting revenge), and likelihood of break-up. SEM analyses of couple data for both sexual and emotional infidelity suggest that for both men and women the level of threat was the main predictor of likelihood of breakup. Following imagined infidelity, this effect was partly mediated by the keeping distance aspect of forgiveness. No such mediation of wanting revenge was found. For emotional infidelity blame was associated with break-up, but fully mediated by keeping distance. Unlike previous studies, we found no associations between relationship quality and forgiveness following hypothetical infidelity. The findings are discussed in relation to the dyadic forgiveness model.