Online infidelity: A new dimension in couple relationships with implications for evaluation and treatment

Abstract

Prior research has examined how Internet addiction can impact couple relationships. This article investigates how with the advent of the Internet a new dimension has been created for romantic and sexual relationships. Reports are suggesting that electronic communication can lead to marital discord, separation, and possible divorce. The ACE model (Anonymity, Convenience, Escape), which was hypothesized as a driving force behind cybersexual addiction, provides a framework to explain the underlying cyber-cultural dynamics that can increase the risk of virtual adultery. Warning signs of a cyberaffair are outlined to alert clients and therapists to this new aspect of couple relationships. Clinicians working in the aftermath of an online romantic and/or sexual encounter need to improve a couple's communication and cohesion and to assess for more severe problems such as sexual addiction. Specific interventions focus on strategies for rebuilding trust, ways to improve marital communication, educating couples on whether these behaviors indicate an underlying addictive process, and how to restore trust and commitment after a cyberaffair.