RESEARCH ARTICLE
Intimacy, Loneliness & Infidelity
Ami Rokach1, 2, 3, *, Gwenaëlle Philibert-Lignières1
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2015Volume: 8
First Page: 71
Last Page: 77
Publisher ID: TOPSYJ-8-71
DOI: 10.2174/1874350101508010071
Article History:
Received Date: 25/10/2014Revision Received Date: 30/01/2015
Acceptance Date: 02/02/2015
Electronic publication date: 15/5/2015
Collection year: 2015
open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode). This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
This article explores the experience of loneliness in intimacy, with a special focus on infidelity. First, the notion of intimacy and love are examined and related to the concept of loneliness. To be in love is often thought to exclude being lonely but research shows otherwise.’ Loneliness is exacerbated when intimacy is shattered by interpersonal events like infidelity. A review of recent literature regarding infidelity is presented. The concepts of depression, social support, self-esteem, and betrayal as a result of infidelity are examined and linked to loneliness. Also included, is a small discussion regarding the psychological distress and loneliness of the adulterer, before and after the revelation of infidelity. It is further asserted that loneliness is a two-way construct when speaking of infidelity; not only is it a salient product of infidelity, but also a strong predictor of its occurrence.