Infidelity rates are getting higher and higher in the American society. Here are some infidelity statistics based on a survey by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago:
25 percent of men have had extramarital affairs
17 percent of women commited adultery
Many couples that go through extramarital affairs end up staying together for their children's sake. Marriage experts say that the real test begins after the affair is over.
Only 35 percent of unions survive an extramarital affair.
65 percent of marriages break up because of adultery
Nothing can destroy a marriage faster than extramarital affairs and marital infidelity.
The study also revealed that the people whose sexual histories included more risky situations or had cheated on a partner before were more likely to lie to get what they wanted.
Propelled by self-interest, people tend to lie outright when asked by potential partners about their sexual past.
Studies show that only one in five ends up marrying their lover. The barrier between lover and spousal status is tough to clear.
In the U.S., public sentiment against adultery is actually very strong as approximately eight out of ten of Americans disapprove of adultery.
U.S. sexual behavior studies over the past 50 years have produced diverse estimates of male infidelity, ranging from 25 percent to 75 percent of men cheating on their wives. Presumably, the percentage rose after the of the 1960s "sexual revolution."
In Taiwan, A study on extramarital affairs estimates that one woman in four suspects her husband of having an affair. The study identified men married from 8-16 years as the group at greatest risk, as they are involved in about 24% of all affairs. Not far behind on the risk scale are people 2-4 years into marriage. And 16% of all affairs happen during the first year of marriage.
Studies also found that men are less forgiving of affairs than women. When a woman has a physical affair, she's risking her marriage more than a man who has a physical affair. Women are more forgiving.
Studies done overseas show that affairs are most likely to happen with men who are unsuccessful in their careers, suffering from sexual dysfunction, or faced with problems in their family or personal relationships that they can't handle."
A study published in February by the Journal of Sex Research showed that 80 percent of women (compared to 98 percent of men) have frequent fantasies involving persons other than their partner, and the gender gap narrows in longer-term relationships.
More than 50 percent of all married women, at some point, cheat on their mates, according to psychologist Bonnie Eaker Weil, who has written several books on adultery.
According to a new study by Dr. Lucielle Ostertag from the Italian Institute of Social Sciences, husbands and wives who cheat on each other are more likely to stay together. According to the scientific survey, the more extramarital flings a couple enjoys, the more likely they are to remain together and the happier they will be. "Not every extramarital affair is good," admits Dr. Ostertag. "Long-term relationships outside of marriage were found to be quite damaging.
There is growing psychological evidence that adulterous behavior in parents dramatically affects children when they reach adulthood. Just as divorce in a family influences the likelihood of the adult children to consider divorce, adulterous behavior by parents seems to beget similar behavior by their offspring.
It's been said the Internet is becoming a breeding ground for adultery, or at least experts who track the patterns of extramarital affairs are saying.
Another interesting statistic is rarely do people have one online affair. Over 90% of people who have cyber affairs get addicted to them and continue them dropping one person for the next as soon as the drama and excitement wear down. As soon as it gets real.
There is growing evidence that marital infidelity is also a problem among Christians. An article in a 1997 issue of Newsweek magazine noted that various surveys suggest that as many as 30 percent of male Protestant ministers have had sexual relationships with women other than their wives. The Journal of Pastoral Care in 1993 reported a survey of Southern Baptist pastors in which 14 percent acknowledged they had engaged in "sexual behavior inappropriate to a minister." It also reported that 70 percent had counseled at least one woman who had had intercourse with another minister.
