Article review: Joan D Atwood’s Cyber-Affairs

Article review: Joan D Atwood’s Cyber-Affairs

Article review: Joan D Atwood’s Cyber-Affairs

This article was downloaded by: [Nova Southeastern University] On: 26 January 2014, At: 11:56 Publisher: Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

Journal of Couple & Relationship Therapy: Innovations in Clinical and Educational Interventions Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/wcrt20

Cyber-Affairs Joan D. Atwood PhD a a Graduate Programs in Marriage and Family Therapy , Hofstra University , Hempstead, NY, USA Published online: 03 Oct 2008.

To cite this article: Joan D. Atwood PhD (2005) Cyber-Affairs, Journal of Couple & Relationship Therapy: Innovations in Clinical and Educational Interventions, 4:2-3, 117-134, DOI: 10.1300/ J398v04n02_11

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1300/J398v04n02_11

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Cyber-Affairs: “What’s the Big Deal?”

Therapeutic Considerations

Joan D. Atwood

SUMMARY. It can be estimated that 50-60% of married men and 45-55% of married women engage in extramarital sex at some time or another during their marriage and almost half come to therapy because of it. On-line infidelity accounts for a growing trend in reasons given for divorce according to the President of the American Academy of Matri- monial Lawyers and it is believed that it has been greatly underesti- mated. Because of the unfamiliarity and newness of this type of infidelity, mental health professionals are often unfamiliar with the dy- namics associated with the concept of cyber-affairs and “virtual cheat- ing.” Many in fact do not consider the behavior as infidelity.

It is the purpose of this paper to explore this phenomenon, the cyber-affair, and examine the factors influencing it, the unique problems associated with this type of affair, along with a discussion of the thera- peutic considerations. [Article copies available for a fee from The Haworth Document Delivery Service: 1-800-HAWORTH. E-mail address: <docdelivery@ haworthpress.com> Website: <http://www.HaworthPress.com> ©2005 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.]

Joan D. Atwood, PhD, is Director, Graduate Programs in Marriage and Family Ther- apy, Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY.

[Haworth co-indexing entry note]: “Cyber-Affairs: ‘What’s the Big Deal?’ Therapeutic Considerations.” Atwood, Joan D. Co-published simultaneously in Journal of Couple & Relationship Therapy (The Haworth Press) Vol. 4, No. 2/3, 2005, pp. 117-134; and: Handbook of the Clinical Treatment of Infidelity (ed: Fred P. Piercy, Katherine M. Hertlein, and Joseph L. Wetchler) The Haworth Press, Inc., 2005, pp. 117-134. Single or multiple copies of this article are available for a fee from The Haworth Document Delivery Service [1-800-HAWORTH, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (EST). E-mail address: [email protected]].

Available online at http://www.haworthpress.com/web/JCRT ? 2005 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.

doi:10.1300/J398v04n02_11 117