Can a Couple Survive Infidelity?
Up to date statistics are difficult to find but according to an early study, as many as 37% of married men and 20% of married women have been unfaithful, and 1 in every 2.7 couples is touched by infidelity (The National Opinion Research Centre, 1992). Furthermore, over 50% of couples who initiate counselling do so because one partner has been unfaithful. These numbers are staggering, and include sexual as well as emotional affairs. Emotional affairs are considered a new crisis of infidelity, and are likely becoming more prevalent due to the technological age in which we live. In these kinds of affairs people who never intended to be unfaithful are unwittingly crossing the line from platonic friendships into romantic relationships, particularly in the workplace and on the Internet. Emotional affairs differ from platonic friendships in that there is 1) greater emotional intimacy than in the marital relationship, 2) secrecy and deception from the partner, and 3) sexual chemistry. Internet
