How infidelity can ruin your health: People are more likely to skip meals, abuse alcohol, have unprotected sex, and …

A new study published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships also found that people who blamed themselves for the cheating had more issues

Valerie Siebert For Dailymail.com

Published:
18:08 BST, 11 June 2017

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Updated:
18:08 BST, 11 June 2017

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Anyone who has ever been cheated on knows that the betrayal feels like it has a physical effect on the body – and now science appears to agree.

A new study published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships has revealed that the psychological strain of being cheated on can lead a person into risky behavior, which is why people who have experienced this particular sort of heartbreak are more prone to mental and physical issues.

The study, entitled Infidelity’s aftermath: Appraisals, mental health, and health-compromising behaviors following a partner’s infidelity, also found that such a negative result is more likely if the person who was cheated on blames themselves for their partner’s actions.

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Nasty surprise: A new study has found that people who discovered their partner to be cheating on them were likely to engage in risky behavior that could have detrimental health effects

The researchers polled 232 college students who had been cheated on within the past three months, with almost all the students dating the person who cheated on them and a relationship average length of 1.76 years. One in seven were still with the partner who cheated on them.

They were asked about their feelings about being cheated on, whether they thought they were at all at fault or if the blame rested solely with their partner, and if their health habits had changed at all since.

The researchers found that not only were those who were cheated on more likely to report symptoms of depression and anxiety, but they were also more likely to engage in health-compromising behaviors.

The most common detrimental reaction was failing to eat as often or at all, which 45 per cent of respondents reported having, followed by alcohol use (44 per cent) and over-exercising (29 per cent).

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One in four reported having sex while high or drunk and 19 per cent admitted to using marijuana.

‘We know that infidelity is one of the most distressing and damaging events couples face,’ the study’s corresponding author, M. Rosie Shrout of University of Nevada, Reno, told PsyPost.

‘We wanted to know if this emotional and psychological distress leads them to engage in risky health behaviors, such as unprotected sex, drug use, alcohol use, binge eating, or not eating at all.’

‘We also found that people who blamed themselves for their partner cheating, such as feeling like it was their fault or they could have stopped it, were more likely to engage in risky behaviors,’ Shrout added.

‘However, blaming their partner for cheating was not directly related to risky behavior involvement. It was interesting to find that these effects were stronger for women than men.’

Shrout mused that the reason for women to be seemingly more adversely affected than men is down to them placing ‘higher importance on the relationship as a source of self and identity’.

Given that the sample studied was relatively young – with an average age of 20 – the researchers are hoping to next analyze older subjects.

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