Full Breakdown
Cheating and Violence: How Partner Infidelity Heightens Abuse Risk for Young Women
8/22/2026, 5:44:15 AM
Study Overview and Findings
Researchers Jennifer S. Barber and Yasamin Kusunoki examined how intimate-partner violence (IPV) and two forms of non-monogamy intersect among young adult women. Their analysis of the Relationship Dynamics and Social Life (RDSL) data showed that women were more likely to experience physical aggression from their partners during weeks when the partner was having another sexual partner, whether the behavior was ambiguous-consent non-monogamy (no explicit agreement) or non-consensual non-monogamy (cheating). Both types of non-monogamy, as well as IPV, were also linked to a higher probability that the relationship would end.
Methodology and Sample
The RDSL study followed 1,003 women aged 18–19 from a diverse Michigan county for 2½ years, beginning when participants were 20–22½ years old. After excluding women without male-partner sex and those whose relationships ended before follow-up, the final analytic sample comprised 895 participants. Baseline data were collected via a 60-minute face-to-face interview, followed by brief weekly online or telephone surveys for up to 18 months (75 % of participants remained for at least that period). Participants received modest compensation for survey completion.
Key Statistics
- 80 % of the women’s relationships ended during the study period.
- 28 % of relationships included IPV; overall, 52 % of participants reported experiencing IPV at some point.
- Partners engaged in non-consensual non-monogamy in 7 % of relationships and ambiguous-consent non-monogamy in 16 % of relationships.
- Women reported their own non-consensual non-monogamy in 5 % of relationships and ambiguous-consent non-monogamy in 9 % of relationships.
- Average relationship length was nine months; partners were, on average, two years older than the respondents.
Interpretation and Implications
Barber and Kusunoki framed the results with expectancy-violations theory, arguing that breaches of agreed-upon sexual expectations—whether overt cheating or undisclosed extra-partner activity—constitute powerful relational violations that elevate the risk of violence and dissolution. The study highlights the need for clinicians and educators working with adolescents and young adults to address how infidelity can destabilize relationships and increase abuse risk. However, the authors note gaps: the data did not assess whether women’s own non-monogamous behavior correlated with IPV, nor did it measure participant-perpetrated violence with the same rigor as partner-perpetrated violence, leaving unanswered questions about reciprocal dynamics.
