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The concept of "rebound" or "revenge" sex has been played out in movies and television shows. Characters who get dumped proceed to drown their sorrows by having sex with a friend or stranger. Despite this common and overplayed topic, a new study decided to examine the role of rebound sex for college students. The study is reporting that this type of sex is not a myth that directors love to use. The researchers stated that having sex after a breakup is a common way for people to recuperate from heartbreak.

For this study, University of Missouri psychologist Lynne Cooper and master's student Lindsay Barber, recruited 170 college students. The students had all went through a breakup within the past eight months. The participants were required to provide weekend reports about their emotional wellbeing and their sexual activities. They also had to provide information on their motivation behind their behaviors.

"People really do use sex as a way to... get back at their ex-partner in the aftermath of a breakup," Cooper stated according to TIME.

The report also revealed that, "Those who were dumped by their partners were more distressed... and more likely to have sex to cope and to get back at or get over their ex-partner."

Based on these self-reports via online diaries, the researchers found that 35 percent of the students admitted having sex in order to rebound from a broken relationship. 25 percent of the students stated that they had sex as a form of revenge.

"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 breakup and then declined over time, as did the probability of having sex with a new partner," the study authors wrote according to the New York Daily News.

The study, "Rebound Sex: Sexual Motives and Behaviors Following a Relationship Breakup," was published in the journal Archives of Sexual Behavior.