Betrayal Trauma Anger: Clinical Implications for Therapeutic Treatment based on the Sexually Betrayed Partner's Experience Related to Anger after Intimate Betrayal.

This article provides insight into the complex anger often following the discovery of broken trust and attachment in a relationship as a result of sexual betrayal. In the past, the helping profession viewed angry betrayed partners from a pathological lens. Through research and progression in the mental health field, betrayed partners are now viewed from a trauma lens as traumatized individuals, and a greater understanding exists of why partners will most likely experience complex anger after betrayal. This article aims to add to the existing literature on the topic of betrayal trauma and provide clinical considerations for assessment and treatment of those seeking therapeutic help to manage and reduce anger. 297 sexually betrayed partners participated in a Betrayal Trauma Anger Survey. Results revealed 83.5% of participants remain in the relationships with their betrayers. 39% of betrayed partners reported not being provided specific help to manage anger from their helping professional. 87% reported self-blame and 43% considered harming themselves. Results clearly indicate that betrayed partners are significantly impacted physiologically, psychologically, behaviorally, and spiritually, and they experience feelings of intense anger with 84% reporting their experienced anger is more intense than at any other time they experienced anger prior to discovering betrayal.

"I know what you did": Associations between relationship satisfaction and reported and suspected extramarital sex.

Although extradyadic sex has been repeatedly shown to be inversely associated with relationship quality, researchers have rarely evaluated partners' beliefs (or suspicions) of such behavior and the degree to which relationship quality varies as a function of suspected extradyadic sex. This study examined, in a United States probability sample of couples (National Couples Survey; N = 236 couples), the (a) prevalence of cross-tabulations of wives' and husbands' reports of their own history of extramarital sex (i.e., sexual intercourse) and their beliefs about their partner's history of extramarital sex having ever occurred in the couple's relationship, and (b) associations between reported and suspected extramarital sex and current relationship satisfaction. The prevalence of different combinations of spouses' reported history of their own extramarital sex and suspicions of their partner's history of extramarital sex are presented. Results indicated that both spouses' reports of their own history of and their suspicion of their partner's history of extramarital sex were significantly and inversely associated with wives' and husbands' relationship satisfaction. These findings underscore the importance of examining not only respondents' report of their own extramarital sexual involvement but also their beliefs about their partner's extramarital sexual involvement in future research on relationship and individual functioning outcomes associated with extramarital sex.

The interplay of attachment styles and marital infidelity: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objectives: Marital infidelity is a highly distressing experience for those involved. Understanding the psychological factors related to infidelity can help develop targeted interventions. The primary aim of this study was to assess the association between attachment styles and marital infidelity. Methods: Seventeen studies were included, sourced from electronic databases including PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and PsycInfo, with no time limitations, up to April 2023. The search employed terms like "attachment AND marital infidelity." Study quality was evaluated using the Risk of Bias Assessment Tool from RevMan version 5.3. Results: The meta-analysis involved a total of 13,666 participants, ranging from 208 to 4047 individuals. Findings showed that higher levels of anxiety and avoidance in attachment were significantly associated with increased marital infidelity (r = 0.18, 95 % CI = 0.14-0.22, p < 0.0001). Conversely, weaker attachment insecurity was linked to reduced rates of marital infidelity. Additionally, both dismissive and fearful attachment styles correlated with marital infidelity, with respective weighted effect sizes of r = 0.07, p < 0.001 (95 % CI = 0.04-0.10) and r = 0.19, p < 0.001 (95 % CI = 0.10-0.29). No association was found between preoccupied attachment and infidelity. Conclusion: Individuals with insecure attachment styles, specifically those with high levels of anxiety or avoidance, are more likely to engage in marital infidelity. Attachment styles should be a focus in couples therapy, especially for treatment related to infidelity. Assessing and addressing these underlying attachment issues can better guide therapists in their work with couples facing infidelity.

Unforgiveness in the Light of Sexual Infidelity: Anxious Attachment to the Partner and Personal Distress as Correlates.

It has been widely documented that infidelity is established as one of the main causes of relationship breakdowns. Likewise, the empirical literature has also revealed the association between anxious attachment and personal distress with unforgiveness motivations. However, there is no known research that has examined the role of anxious attachment to the partner, personal distress, and unforgiveness motivations in infidelity and even less, taking into account the perspective of the offended person. Through a correlational study (N = 304 Spanish participants from the general population [M = 26.25, SD = 9.62]), we examined the relationship between unforgiveness motivations (revenge and avoidance motivations for unforgiveness), anxious attachment to the partner, and personal distress experienced after a hypothetical sexual infidelity from the perspective of the offended person. The results showed that anxious attachment was positively associated with revenge motivation for unforgiveness and personal distress. Moreover, high levels of anxious attachment to the partner were only associated with higher avoidance motivation for unforgiveness through increased levels of personal distress. Last but not least, we discuss these findings and their possible repercussions for intimate relationships.

Justifying by degrees: A grounded theory of men's decision-making process in infidelity.

Infidelity is a common reason couples seek therapeutic help as betrayed partners are often hurt and dismayed by their partners' decision to engage in an extradyadic relationship. Despite its common occurrence, there are very few empirical studies of the decision-making process behind infidelity. To address this gap, the current study used grounded theory, a qualitative approach commonly used to develop theories from participants' experiences, to explore men's processes in deciding to engage in infidelity. Analysis of interviews with participants (n = 13) resulted in a grounded theory of decision-making by cisgender men who participated in infidelity while in a committed, heterosexual relationship. The results suggest that the decision involves a continuous process of justification and rationalization. Major categories of the theory include the preaffair context, snowballing, motivated reasoning, and postaffair decisions. Clinical implications are also included.

Ribosomal Dysfunction Is a Common Pathomechanism in Different Forms of Trichothiodystrophy.

Mutations in a broad variety of genes can provoke the severe childhood disorder trichothiodystrophy (TTD) that is classified as a DNA repair disease or a transcription syndrome of RNA polymerase II. In an attempt to identify the common underlying pathomechanism of TTD we performed a knockout/knockdown of the two unrelated TTD factors TTDN1 and RNF113A and investigated the consequences on ribosomal biogenesis and performance. Interestingly, interference with these TTD factors created a nearly uniform impact on RNA polymerase I transcription with downregulation of UBF, disturbed rRNA processing and reduction of the backbone of the small ribosomal subunit rRNA 18S. This was accompanied by a reduced quality of decoding in protein translation and the accumulation of misfolded and carbonylated proteins, indicating a loss of protein homeostasis (proteostasis). As the loss of proteostasis by the ribosome has been identified in the other forms of TTD, here we postulate that ribosomal dysfunction is a common underlying pathomechanism of TTD.

Relationship status and gender-related differences in response to infidelity.

Introduction: The sexual imagination hypothesis suggests that responses to a partner's infidelity emerge from the sociocultural factors that affect individuals' imagining of that occurrence irrespective of biological sex, including relationship status (i.e., the experience of a serious, committed relationship). Nevertheless, evolutionary psychological perspectives predict that responses to a partner's infidelity emerge from a sex-specific evolved innate mechanism. Methods: A lower 2D:4D digit ratio is associated with more robust responses to a partner's sexual infidelity. In this study, participants (660 males and 912 females) were requested to measure finger lengths, reactions to their partners' sexual and emotional infidelity, and relationship status. Results: A logistic regression and multiple regression analyses revealed that relationship status was uniquely associated with responses to a partner's sexual and emotional infidelity beyond the effects of sex and 2D:4D. Those in committed relationships were more upset or distressed over their partners' infidelity, particularly over sexual infidelity, than those not in committed relationships. Discussion: The results supported the sexual imagination hypothesis indirectly, while evolutionary psychological perspectives were met with skepticism. Our findings implied that sex differences in jealousy result from relationship status, and that responses to partners' infidelity are more alike than different.

No Remorse: Sexual Infidelity Is Not Clearly Linked with Relationship Satisfaction or Well-Being in Ashley Madison Users.

Past research on extradyadic relationship experiences (including infidelity) often suffers from restricted sampling and retrospective accounts, which may have given researchers a distorted image of what it is like for people to have affairs. In this research, we shed light on the experiences people have during their affairs with a sample of registered users on Ashley Madison, a website geared toward facilitating infidelity. Our participants completed questionnaires about their primary (e.g., spousal) relationships, as well as personality traits, motivations to seek affairs, and outcomes. Findings from this study challenge widely held notions about infidelity experiences. Analyses revealed that participants were highly satisfied with their affairs and expressed little moral regret. A small subset of participants reported having consensually open relationships with their partners, who knew about their activity on Ashley Madison. In contrast to previous findings, we did not observe low relationship quality (i.e., satisfaction, love, commitment) to be a major driver of affairs and the affairs did not predict decreases in these relationship quality variables over time. That is, among a sample of individuals who proactively sought affairs, their affairs were not primarily motivated by poor dyadic/marital relationships, their affairs did not seem to have a strong negative impact on their relationships, and personal ethics did not play a strong role in people's feelings about their affairs.

Phenotypic and genotypic infidelity in B-lineage neoplasms, including transdifferentiation following targeted therapy: Report from the 2021 SH/EAHP Workshop.

OBJECTIVES: Session 2 of the 2021 Society for Hematopathology and European Association for Haematopathology Workshop collected examples of lineage infidelity and transdifferentiation in B-lineage neoplasms, including after targeted therapy. METHODS: Twenty cases were submitted. Whole-exome sequencing and genome-wide RNA expression analysis were available on a limited subsample. RESULTS: A diagnosis of B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) was rendered on at least 1 biopsy from 13 patients. There was 1 case of acute myeloid leukemia (AML); the remaining 6 cases were mature B-cell neoplasms. Targeted therapy was administered in 7 cases of B-ALL and 4 cases of mature B-cell neoplasms. Six cases of B-ALL underwent lineage switch to AML or mixed-phenotype acute leukemia at relapse, 5 of which had rearranged KMT2A. Changes in maturational state without lineage switch were observed in 2 cases. Examples of de novo aberrant T-cell antigen expression (n = 2) were seen among the mature B-cell lymphoma cohort, and their presence correlated with alterations in tumor cell gene expression patterns. CONCLUSIONS: This cohort of cases enabled us to illustrate, discuss, and review current concepts of lineage switch and aberrant antigen expression in a variety of B-cell neoplasms and draw attention to the role targeted therapies may have in predisposing neoplasms to transdifferentiation as well as other, less expected changes in maturational status.

Disruption of lineage integrity as a precursor to breast tumor initiation.

Increase in lineage infidelity and/or imbalance is frequently observed around the earliest stage of breast tumor initiation. In response to disruption of homeostasis, differentiated cells can partially lose their identity and gain cellular plasticity, a process involving epigenome landscape remodeling. This increase of cellular plasticity may promote the malignant transformation of breast tumors and fuel their heterogeneity. Here, we review recent studies that have yield insights into important regulators of lineage integrity and mechanisms that trigger mammary epithelial lineage derail, and evaluate their impacts on breast tumor development.

Love and Infidelity: Causes and Consequences.

This is a narrative review addressing the topic of romantic infidelity, its causes and its consequences. Love is commonly a source of much pleasure and fulfillment. However, as this review points out, it can also cause stress, heartache and may even be traumatic in some circumstances. Infidelity, which is relatively common in Western culture, can damage a loving, romantic relationship to the point of its demise. However, by highlighting this phenomenon, its causes and its consequences, we hope to provide useful insight for both researchers and clinicians who may be assisting couples facing these issues. We begin by defining infidelity and illustrating the various ways in which one may become unfaithful to their partner. We explore the personal and relational factors that enhance an individual's tendency to betray their partner, the various reactions related to a discovered affair and the challenges related to the nosological categorization of infidelity-based trauma, and conclude by reviewing the effects of COVID-19 on unfaithful behavior, as well as clinical implications related to infidelity-based treatment. Ultimately, we hope to provide a road map, for academicians and clinicians alike, of what some couples may experience in their relationships and how can they be helped.

Captagone & Morbid Jealousy.

This study aimed to explore the relationship between Captagon usage and the development of delusions of infidelity. The study sample; 101 male patients, was recruited from patients admitted to Eradah Complex for Mental Health and addiction, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with the diagnosis of amphetamine (Captagon) induced psychosis during the period from September 2021 to March 2022. All patients underwent an extensive psychiatric interview; including interview with patients' families; a demographic sheet, a drug use questionnaire, the structured clinical interview for DSM-IV (SCID 1), routine medical investigation, and urine screening for drugs. Patients' ages ranged from 19 to 46 years old with Mean ± SD 30.87 ± 6.58. 57.4 % were single, 77.2% have finished their high school, and 22.8% had no work. Captagon using age ranged from 14-40 years old, and regular daily dose ranged from 1-15 tablet, while maximum daily dose ranged from 2-25 tablets. Twenty-six patients (25.7%) of the study group have developed infidelity delusions. A higher divorce rate was present among patients who developed infidelity delusions (53.8%) in comparison to patients who developed other types of delusions (6.7%). Infidelity delusions are common among patients diagnosed with Captagon induce psychosis, and they harmfully influence their social lives.

Relational recovery after infidelity as a dual process: A model based on the experiences of female injured partners.

In the literature, relational recovery after infidelity is often described as a process going through different consecutive stages towards a reconciliation. We interviewed 25 injured partners and invited them to look back and talk about what helped them to recover from the pain and the conflicts caused by the relational infidelity of their partner. From their stories-through thematic analysis-four themes emerged: 1. talking, 2.the truth, 3. trust and 4. ethical imbalance. It furthermore struck us how the participants described their recovery process as an experience of being oscillated between connection and disconnection. These findings pointed us in the direction of developing a dual process model that fits with our participants' experiences of recovering after infidelity, while emphasizing the dynamic nature of their stories.

The role of gender and romantic jealousy in intimate partner violence against women, a mixed-methods study in Northern Ecuador.

Male romantic jealousy is a commonly cited driver of intimate partner violence against women. An in-depth, contextualised understanding of the pathways and mechanisms from jealousy to intimate partner violence is, however, needed to inform programmes and interventions. We triangulated data from 48 interviews, eight focus groups and 1216 survey findings from low-income married women and men in northern Ecuador. Male jealousy was associated with controlling behaviours (aOR: 14.47, 95% CI: 9.47, 22.12) and sexual intimate partner violence (aOR: 2.4, 95% CI: 1.12, 5.12). Controlling behaviours were associated with physical and sexual intimate partner violence (aOR: 2.16, 95% CI: 1.21, 3.84). Qualitatively we found that most respondents framed jealousy within a discourse of love, and three triggers of male jealousy leading to intimate partner violence were identified: (1) community gossip, which acted as a mechanism of community control over women's movements and sexuality; (2) women joining the labour force, which was quantitatively associated with intimate partner violence and partially mediated by jealousy; and (3) women's refusal to have sex, which could lead husbands to coerce sex through accusations of infidelity. Gender-transformative interventions at the individual, couple and community level providing models of alternative masculinities and femininities may offer promise in reducing intimate partner violence in Ecuador. Importantly, future economic empowerment interventions should address jealousy to mitigate potential intimate partner violence backlash.

Abnormal B-lymphoblasts in myelodysplastic syndromes and myeloproliferative neoplasms other than chronic myeloid leukemia.

BACKGROUND: Lineage infidelity is characteristic of mixed phenotype acute leukemia and is also seen in blast phase of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), myeloid/lymphoid neoplasia with eosinophilia and gene rearrangements, and subtypes of acute myeloid leukemia. Driver genetic events often occur in multipotent progenitor cells in myeloid neoplasms, suggesting that multilineage output may be more common than appreciated. This phenomenon is not well studied in myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and non-CML myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN). METHODS: We systematically evaluated phenotypic lineage infidelity by reviewing bone marrow pathology and flow cytometry (FC) studies of 1262 consecutive patients with a diagnosis of MDS and/or non-CML MPN. We assessed B- and T-cells in these patients by FC. When abnormal B-lymphoblast (ABLB) populations were detected, we additionally evaluated immature B-cells using a high sensitivity FC assay for B-lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoma (B-ALL). RESULTS: We identified 9 patients (7 MDS, 7/713, 1%; 2 non-CML MPN, 2/312, 0.6%; 0 in MDS/MPN) with low-level ABLB populations (0.012%-3.6% of WBCs in marrow) with abnormal immunophenotypes. Genetic studies on flow sorted cell populations confirmed that some ABLB populations were clonally related to myeloid blasts (4/6, 67%). On follow-up, ABLB populations in 8/9 patients remained stable or disappeared. Only 1 case progressed to B-ALL. CONCLUSIONS: These findings demonstrate that phenotypically detectable abnormal immature B lineage output occurs in MDS and non-CML MPN, albeit rarely. While presence of ABLB does not necessarily reflect blast crisis, the underlying disease biology of our findings may ultimately be relevant to patient management and warrants further investigation.

The long and short of mistress relationships: Sex-differentiated mate preferences reflect a compromise of mating ideals.

OBJECTIVE: Evolved mate preferences have taken center stage in evolutionary psychology research, yet this literature has been fairly muted on mate preferences for extrapair partners. Here, we examined the mate preferences for mistress relationships (the traits that men prioritize in a mistress and mistresses prioritize in their male partners) and compared these preferences to those of short- and long-term relationships. METHOD: In two studies (NStudy 1a  = 104, NStudy 1b  = 191), we derived dimensions of mate preferences through exploratory factor analyses. In subsequent studies (NStudy 2  = 219, NStudy 3  = 101), we employed a budget allocation paradigm, where participants designed their ideal mates for different relationship types (short-term, long-term, and mistress relationships). RESULTS: Whereas men focused on fulfilling short-term mating ideals (by prioritizing physical attractiveness) in a mistress relationship, women focused on fulfilling long-term (but also some short-term) mating ideals (prioritizing both physical attractiveness and social status) for a mistress relationship. CONCLUSION: Findings indicate that mistress relationships reflect a compromise of men's and women's (conflicting) mating ideals and contribute to an understanding of relationships that are neither completely short- nor long-term in nature.

Men's Reflections on Romantic Jealousy and Intimate Partner Violence in Mwanza, Tanzania.

Romantic jealousy is a prominent trigger for intimate partner violence. Yet, there are few studies on this relationship in sub-Saharan Africa and none captures men's perspectives. To expand the existing knowledge on romantic jealousy and its relation to intimate partner violence, our study analyzed 30 in-depth interviews with male participants. Triggers of romantic jealousy included suspicion or confirmed infidelity, reduced attention from their partners, and challenges to male supremacy. Men reported that intimate partner violence was a frequently used response to triggers of romantic jealousy. Social norms and inequitable gender norms were key underlying factors to all those triggers.

Estranged and Unhappy? Examining the Dynamics of Personal and Relationship Well-Being Surrounding Infidelity.

Although relationship theories often describe infidelity as a damaging event in a couple's life, it remains unclear whether relationship problems actually follow infidelity, precede it, or both. The analyses of dyadic panel data of adults in Germany including about 1,000 infidelity events showed that infidelity was preceded (but not followed) by a gradual decrease in relationship functioning in perpetrators and victims. There was little evidence of rebound effects in the aftermath of infidelity, with the exception of unfaithful women and individuals with lower initial relationship commitment who returned to the pre-event level of well-being or even exceeded it, providing support to the expectancy violation theory (vs. the investment model of infidelity). By showing that well-being starts to decline before infidelity happens, this study provides a differentiated view on the temporal dynamics of infidelity and well-being and contributes to the literature on romantic relationship dynamics and major life events.

Affective-sexual relations: conceptions and representations of middle class young university students / Relações afetivo-sexuais: concepções e representações de jovens universitários de classes médias / Relaciones afectivo-sexuales: concepciones y representaciones de jóvenes universitarios de clase media

This study aimed to analyze the conceptions and representations of young university students of both sexes, belonging to the middle classes and of different sexual orientations, regarding their affective-sexual relationships. Twenty-four young people, students from a public university, participated in this study, whose ages ranged from 18 to 30 years, 13 men and 11 women. The data collection consisted of the application of socioeconomic questionnaires and the realization of five audio-recorded sessions of the focus group. The material was organized according to the Thematic Analysis, from which the following categories emerged: close relationship and open relationship. For most participants, representations about close and open relationships proved to be plural and flexible, as agreed by the couple. Affective-sexual relationships would not only be under the aegis of institutionalized rites (dating, engagement, marriage), but would be built gradually according to satisfactory agreements

Este estudo teve por objetivo analisar as concepções e representações de jovens universitários de ambos os sexos, pertencentes às classes médias e de diferentes orientações sexuais, a respeito de suas relações afetivo-sexuais. Participaram 24 jovens, estudantes de universidade pública, cujas idades variaram de 18 a 30 anos, sendo 13 homens e 11 mulheres. A coleta de dados consistiu na aplicação de questionários socioeconômicos e na realização de cinco sessões áudio-gravadas de grupo focal. O material foi organizado conforme a Análise Temática da qual emergiram as seguintes categorias: relacionamento fechado e relacionamento aberto. Para a maioria dos participantes, as representações sobre relacionamento fechado e aberto revelaram-se plurais e flexíveis conforme acordado pela dupla/casal. Os relacionamentos afetivo-sexuais não estariam apenas sob a égide de ritos institucionalizados (namoro, noivado, casamento), mas seriam construídos paulatinamente conforme acordos satisfatórios

Este estudio tuvo como objetivo analizar las concepciones y representaciones de jóvenes universitarios de ambos sexos, pertenecientes a las clases medias y de diferentes orientaciones sexuales, en cuanto a sus relaciones afectivo-sexuales. Participaron 24 jóvenes, estudiantes de una universidad pú-blica, cuyas edades variaban de 18 a 30 años, siendo 13 hombres y 11 mujeres. La recogida de datos consistió en la aplicación de cuestionarios socioeconómi- cos y la realización de cinco sesiones de focus groupgrabadas en audio. El material se organizó según el Análisis Temático del cual surgieron las siguientes categorías: relación cerrada y relación abierta. Para la mayoría de los participantes, las representaciones sobre las relaciones cerradas y abiertas resultaron ser plurales y flexibles según lo acordado por la pareja. Las relaciones afectivo-sexuales no sólo estarían bajo la égida de ritos institucionalizados (relación, noviazgo, matrimonio), sino que se construirían gradualmente según acuerdos satisfactorios