The Impact of D-Day: A Deductive Qualitative Analysis on Assessing Infidelity Discovery Responses Using the IES-R

Infidelity can cause negative impacts in interpersonal relationships, especially for nonparticipating partners. These effects may mirror symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, leading clinicians to assess for and treat these symptoms in therapy. However, current measures for post-traumatic stress symptoms used after infidelity discovery may not capture the full breadth of nonparticipating partners’ responses. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the appropriateness of the Impact of Events Scale- Revised (IES-R) as a measure to capture the subjective level of distress experienced after infidelity discovery in intimate relationships. This study utilizes a deductive qualitative analysis to examine the experiences of nonparticipating partners that occur at infidelity discovery, as well as test the IES-R as an assessment measure to ensure it adequately captures the experiences of and responses to infidelity discovery. Supported and refined themes are discussed to provide clinicians with a more complete understanding of infidelity discovery responses to ensure appropriate assessment and treatment in therapy. Additionally, expanded themes within infidelity discovery responses highlight the need for not only trauma responses to be addressed, but grief to be considered as well.