Marital Infi delity: The Experience of Men and Women

Abstract

This article aims to investigate the experience of infi delity in married or cohabiting men and women, considering the frequency, types of behaviors and reasons for infi delity. Participants of the study were 237 subjects, 106 men and 131 women, aged between 21 and 73 years (M=38; SD=11.22), who reported having been unfaithful to their current partner. Participants answered a sociodemographic and relationship questionnaire, the Infi delity Questionnaire and the Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale. The results show the similarity of the infi delity behaviors between men and women, although men were more frequently involved in sexual behaviors and women more in emotional behaviors. The study identifi ed dissatisfaction with the partner or the relationship as the main reason for infi delity for both men and women. These fi ndings highlight the importance of considering infi delity as a relational phenomenon, which reveals the importance of the relational approach in the treatment of couples who experience infi delity.Keywords: Infi delity, marriage, infi delity behavior, reasons for infi delity. Infi delidade Conjugal: A Experiência de Homens e Mulheres ResumoEste artigo visa conhecer a vivência da infi delidade em homens e mulheres casados ou em coabitação em termos de frequência, tipos de comportamentos e motivos para ser infi el. Participaram da pesquisa 237 sujeitos, 106 homens e 131 mulheres com idades entre 21 e 73 anos (M = 38; DP = 11,22) que reportaram terem sido infi éis ao companheiro(a) atual. Os participantes responderam a uma fi cha de caracterização sociodemográfi ca e de dados sobre o relacionamento, o Questionário de Infi delidade e a Escala de Ajustamento Conjugal Revisada. Os resultados revelaram a similaridade dos comportamentos de infi delidade entre homens e mulheres, ainda que os homens refi ram mais comportamentos sexuais Infi delidad Conyugal: La Experiencia de Hombres y Mujeres ResumenEste artículo tiene como objetivo conocer la experiencia de infi delidad en hombres y mujeres casados o que cohabitan en términos de la frecuencia, tipos de comportamientos y motivaciones para ser infi el. Los participantes fueron 237 sujetos, 106 hombres y 131 mujeres con una edad entre 21 y 73 años (M = 38; DE = 11.22) que reportaron haber sido infi el a su pareja actual. Los participantes respondieron a una hoja de datos sociodemográfi cos y de caracterización de la relación, el cuestionario de comportamientos de infi delidad y de la Escala de Ajuste Marital revisado. Los resultados revelan la similitud de comportamientos de infi delidad de hombres y mujeres, aunque los hombres refi eren más comportamientos sexuales mientras las mujeres refi eren involucrarse de manera afectiva en estas relaciones. El estudio identifi có que la principal motivación para la traición para ambos sexos es la insatisfacción con su compañero(a) o con la relación. Estos resultados ponen de relieve la importancia de considerar la infi delidad como un fenómeno relacional. Se destaca la importancia de este enfoque relacional en...

The Relationship Between Loneliness Level and Deception Tendencies in Married Individuals

“…In another study, it is seen that men tend to cheat significantly higher than women (Sagarin et al, 2012). However, on the other hand, there is no significant difference in deception behavior between men and women (Scheeren, Apellániz, & Wagner, 2018). In this study, the loneliness levels of married individuals did not differ significantly according to gender.…”

“…Loneliness is seen as a condition that negatively affects the well-being of individuals but decreases with love and relationship satisfaction (Türk & Yıldız, 2017). In the literature, it is stated that individuals who are not emotionally satisfied with their marital relationship and with their spouse cannot find the closeness they are expecting begin to seek new sexual experiences, seek behaviors that may lead to betrayal against their spouse in their marriage in search of freedom (Scheeren, Apellániz, & Wagner, 2018). As it is seen in the researches, it can be said that individual and relational based problems lead to deception tendency.…”

Extradyadic Behaviors and Gender: How Do They Relate With Sexual Desire, Relationship Quality, and Attractiveness

“…Hypothesis 3 -Individuals that had been betrayed by a partner tend to have higher sexual desire, lower relationship quality, and to attribute lower importance to partner's attractiveness. This hypothesis is based on prior research that showed that individuals that have been betrayed by a partner are more likely to have extradyadic behaviors as retribution (Scheeren et al, 2018).…”

“…Research have showed that levels of general satisfaction with the relationship, sex, and the quality of love and affection are among the best predictors of extradyadic behaviors (Nowak et al, 2014;Fincham and May, 2017). Specifically, studies suggest that people engage in extradyadic behaviors because the quality of their primary relationship is low (Atkins et al, 2001;Scheeren et al, 2018). Glass and Wright (1985) found a negative correlation between relationship satisfaction and extradyadic behaviors -both emotional and sexual extradyadic behaviors -, being the strongest for relationship satisfaction and emotional extradyadic behaviors.…”

“…Several studies reported that men are involved in extradyadic behavior more than women (Greeley, 1991;Laumann et al, 1994;Wiederman, 1997), and that both genders engage in different types of extradyadic behavior. Specifically, men are more likely to have sexual affairs, whereas women are more likely to have emotional affairs (Glass and Wright, 1985;Atkins et al, 2001;Scheeren et al, 2018). Furthermore, men have a tendency to assess partner sexual extradyadic behaviors more negatively than emotional extradyadic behaviors (Tagler and Jeffers, 2013).…”