Once a Cheater, Always a Cheater? Serial Infidelity Across Subsequent Relationships

Publication Date

11-2017

Document Type

Article

Organizational Units

College of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences, Psychology

Keywords

Infidelity, Relationships, Extra-dyadic sexual involvement, Risk factors

Abstract

Although there is a large body of research addressing predictors of relationship infidelity, no study to our knowledge has specifically addressed infidelity in a previous relationship as a risk factor for infidelity in a subsequent relationship. The current study addressed risk for serial infidelity by following adult participants (N = 484) longitudinally through two mixed-gender romantic relationships. Participants reported their own extra-dyadic sexual involvement (ESI) (i.e., having sexual relations with someone other than their partner) as well as both known and suspected ESI on the part of their partners in each romantic relationship. Findings from logistic regressions showed that those who reported engaging in ESI in the first relationship were three times more likely to report engaging in ESI in their next relationship compared to those who did not report engaging in ESI in the first relationship. Similarly, compared to those who reported that their first-relationship partners did not engage in ESI, those who knew that their partners in the first relationships had engaged in ESI were twice as likely to report the same behavior from their next relationship partners. Those who suspected their first-relationship partners of ESI were four times more likely to report suspicion of partner ESI again in their next relationships. These findings controlled for demographic risk factors for infidelity and held regardless of respondent gender or marital status. Thus, prior infidelity emerged as an important risk factor for infidelity in next relationships. Implications for novel intervention targets for prevention of serial relationship infidelity are discussed.

Copyright Date

8-7-2017

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

All Rights Reserved
All Rights Reserved.

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by Springer Science+Business Media, LLC. User is responsible for all copyright compliance. This article was originally published as:

Knopp, K., Scott, S., Ritchie, L., Rhoades, G. K., Markman, H. J., & Stanley, S. M. (2017). Once a cheater, always a cheater? Serial infidelity across subsequent relationships. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 46(8), 2301-2311. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-017-1018-1

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative.

Rights Holder

Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

Provenance

Received from CHORUS

File Format

application/pdf

Language

English (eng)

Extent

11 pgs

File Size

477 KB

Publication Title

Archives of Sexual Behavior

Volume

46

Issue

8

First Page

2301

Last Page

2311

ISSN

1573-2800

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