An American journalist wrote in an editorial published on salon.com about the issue of infidelity. In the context of recent sex scandals in the politics world, Tracy Clark-Flory is wondering whether monogamous marriages are still possible. Journalist examines several studies on the rate of extramarital affairs in the U.S. and is trying to find some reasons for infidelity within the family.
Marital dissatisfaction, lack of emotional support and communication between partners, an unsatisfactory sex life or even no sex life at all, low self-esteem and narcissism of one partner are just some of the causes of infidelity.
In 1948, Alfred Kinsey (known as the “father of sexology”) wrote that seven in ten men and one in five women admitted to having had extramarital affairs. Present studies provide statistics on the infidelity among married rate so different, that percentage of people “cheating” during a marriage is difficult to approximate, ranging from 20-50 percent for women, to 30-60 percent for men. According to research in the field, men are more prone to infidelity than women.
In 2002, the National Center for Public Opinion Research, University of Chicago found that 15 percent of married women are cheating on their wives, compared with 22 percent of men. According to researchers at the University of Texas at Austin, 40 to 76 percent of marriages are affected by extramarital affairs. “A key traditional interpretation of these figures show that half of all married couples remain monogamous, while the other half will experience infidelity during marriage”, the scientists conclude.
According to the author, another problem is differences in understanding this concept, people assuming various definitions of infidelity. In an American study on infidelity, 31 percent of men and 16 percent of women reported having had a sexual affair, without emotional involvement. 13 percent of men and 21 percent of women were emotionally involved in a relationship with someone other than their spouse, but without sex. According to the latest survey, only 20 percent of subjects were involved in an affair that has meant sexual and emotional involvement.
Tracy Clark-Flory talks about the infidelity of the celebrities, which are dependent on adrenaline and are convinced that they deserve everything, these factors motivating their “adventures”. “I was convinced that the usual rules do not apply. I felt it was my right,” said Tiger Woods, American golfer that had 121extramarital relations affairs during the five-year marriage to Elin Nordegren, his former wife.