News

This is the reason you're more likely to cheat on your partner

Picture:
Picture:
Unsplash

We’re most likely to cheat if we’re not satisfied with our relationship, and feel detached from our partner, according to a new study.

Researchers from the University of Queensland in Australia surveyed more than 100 adults, who were all in a relationship. They asked them about factors including the length of a relationship, number of sexual partners, alcohol consumption and religion – as well as faithfulness.

They concluded that relationship satisfaction and attachment were the “Only reliable predictors” of cheating.

The study states:

The hypothesis that relationship satisfaction would be a significant negative predictor of extradyadic kissing and sex inclination was the only hypothesis supported.

Extradyadic refers to a wide range of behaviours occurring outside of a committed relationship, FYI.

They also found that people with dysfunctional levels of impulsivity were more likely to be inclined to cheat on their partner, as well as those with a higher number of sexual partners.

Males were also found to be more inclined to cheat on their partners than females, but only when it came to sex. With kissing, there was no difference between men and women.

The study states:

It appears that gender effects are significant in the prediction of engagement in (or inclination to engage in) highly intimate extradyadic sexual activities. However, moderately intimate sexual activities, such as kissing, that are unaccompanied by highly intimate sexual activities are not significantly associated with gender effects.

More: These are the signs your partner is cheating, according to the cheaters themselves

The Conversation (0)
x