New York: For a jilted lover, 'rebound' or 'revenge' sex is a real phenomenon, suggests research.
“It's at least a common fix for those who underwent break-up,” said psychologist Lynne Cooper from University of Missouri in the US.
The researchers recruited 170 college students who had experienced a break-up in the previous eight months to take part in the study.
The participants filled out weekly reports detailing their emotions and sexual activity, as well as their motivation for engaging in that behaviour.
Thirty-five percent of the participants said they had sex to rebound from a relationship while 25 percent admitted to having revenge sex, said the study published in the journal Archives of Sexual Behavior.
“Consistent with popular beliefs about rebound and revenge sex, having sex to cope with distress and to get over or get back at the ex-partner were elevated immediately following the break-up and then declined over time, as did the probability of having sex with a new partner,” explained the study.
Interestingly, the people who were dumped felt angry and distressed and were more likely to seek out rebound sex than those who did the dumping, the study noted.
