According to a study published in Deviant Behaviorinfidelity would be essentially motivated by personal trends, very little by the behavior of the other. If a strong emotional commitment protects the relationship, passion and intimacy would not be enough to prevent deception. Sean G. Jefferson, author of the study, and his team recall that, all over the world, infidelity remains the most common cause of rupture. This observation led them to examine whether certain characteristics of a relationship could make it more resistant or, on the contrary, more exposed to the risk of deception.
Commitment, key against infidelity
The researchers hypothesized that a strong commitment to his or his partner constituted an obstacle to infidelity, but not passion and intimacy. Their second hypothesis was that the conviction that the partner had sex with another person during the relationship increased the probability of resorting to “revenge sex”. For this, they relied on the data of the fourth wave of the national longitudinal study on health and the development of adolescence in adulthood (ADD Health), a representative survey conducted in the United States on sexuality and risky behavior. The analyzes focused on 1,912 people married or living as a couple, questioned about their own infidelity, that of their partner, as well as on passion, intimacy and commitment to their relationship. The analysis of the results reveals that individuals very committed to their partner have much less tend to be unfaithful. Indeed, their risk of deception is reduced by 78 % compared to those whose investment in the relationship is less.
Passion and intimacy: illusory protections
On the other hand, passion and intimacy were not linked to infidelity, which suggests that the quality or frequency of sexual relations, just like emotional proximity, are not enough to prevent deception. People suspecting their infidelity partner were much more likely to respond by deception, with a risk multiplied by 7.7. “”While clinicians and researchers continue to analyze the complex phenomena linked to infidelity, it is important to remember that the fault never returns to the victim. To love someone and give them everything he wants does not guarantee that he will not deceive. Loyalty remains a personal choice, and at any time, a person can decide to end the relationship to avoid being unfaithful “conclude the authors of the study.