A 1983 study found that 29 percent of married people under 25 had had an extramarital affair with no statistical difference between the number of men and women who chose to be unfaithful to their spouses.
By comparison, only 9 percent of spouses in the 1950s under the age of 25 had been involved in extramarital sex.
Another study concluded that by age 40 about 50 to 65 percent of husbands and 45 to 55 percent of wives become involved in an extramarital affair.
A 1987 study surveyed 200 men and women and found that their extramarital affairs lasted an average of two years.
Extramarital affairs go through transitions over time. They may begin romantic, sexual, or emotional relationships and may become intimate friendships. extramarital affairs that become friendships can last decades or a lifetime.
Online extramarital affairs differ from other extramarital affairs in that they may not involve a physical component, but the emotional attachment is still there.
Online extramarital affairs develop because of the dual attraction of attention and anonymity. Cyberaffairs provide an opportunity to become another person and chat with distant and invisible neighbors in the high-tech limbo of cyberspace.
extramarital affairs usually develop because the relationship meets various social and psychological needs.
Women report feeling thrilled by their lover’s interest in them physically, emotionally, and intellectually. They are also excited about the chance to know a different man (how he thinks and feels).
Men report feeling excited about the sexual experience of the affair. Men also feel guilt and regret over deceit when an affair ends, but less so than most women.
Men and women have extramarital affairs for different reasons. Research has shown that women seek extramarital affairs in order to be loved, have a friend, and feel needed. Men seek extramarital affairs for sexual fulfillment, friendship, and fun.
One study found that 47 percent of wives who were employed full-time and 27 percent of full-time homemakers had been involved in an affair before they were 40 years old.
New Woman magazine found that 57 percent of employed wives who had an affair met their lover at work.
