Why do people cheat?

Reasons Why People Cheat
Institution
Date
Abstract
The aim of this study was to determine the reasons as to why people cheat in relationships. A total of 50 volunteers aged 30-50 were interviewed and were given questionnaires via mail to fill and return. The questionnaire contained both closed and open-ended questions. Before the main questionnaire was administered, the respondents were required to complete a demographic questionnaire and then a Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) screening tool, and a sexual behavior questionnaire was also included for them to fill to determine the effect of alcohol on cheating. The primary purpose of the research was to answer the questions that, what are the dominant characteristics of partners who cheat, and also what were the reasons given by the cheating individuals in justification for cheating. The results indicated that age, culture, and gender had no correlation with cheating. The findings showed that the level of happiness in a relationship, psychological disorders and degree of satisfaction in relationship played a major role in determining whether an individual was likely to cheat on their partner. The findings are important to counselors as they will be able to understand the causes of cheating thus putting them in a better position to discharge their services diligently.
Keywords:
Infidelity, cheating, monogamy
Introduction
Currently, Infidelity is the major contributing factor in divorce, research shows over 90% of divorce cases are as a result of cheating. According to Zare, (2011), the rate of infidelity in men increased by 28% as they approach the sixties and women increase by 20% of the same age. Thus cheating or rather an infidelity continues to attract a broad interest from scholars. Cheating is a casual reference to adultery. The catastrophic nature of fraud makes it a prime subject for various researchers. Fraud can be defined as a breach of an expectation of sexual exclusivity in a relationship. According to Blow and Hartnett, cheating can be categorized under various categories that include, having an affair, extramarital relationships, sex with a different partner, oral sex, kissing, fondling or having emotional connections that are beyond friendships. Infidelity is characterized by unfaithfulness that results from being unreliable in a relationship and non-commitment to exclusivity in the relationship. Categorizing cheating depends on various cultural definitions and is also determined by the type of the relationship that exists between the two. Many researchers have studied infidelity in different perspectives from type to cues to gender implication of it and also how personal education level affect in fidelity. The aim of this study is to develop from previous studies and determine the reasons why people cheat. The study borrows from Whisman, & Snyder, (2007). Who emphasizes the importance of studying variables that are related to the "perpetrator," to the injured partner and the relationship and the greater context? To understand the behavior and how its etiology, the study will examine variable at the different levels mentioned above. The research will answer two questions that are, what characteristics makes people more susceptible to cheating and also what reasons are given by both men and women who engages in the act of cheating. The study uses a study sample of 50 individuals aged 30-50 years.
Background
As noted above, cheating is a major scourge in relationships in almost all societies. Whereas the society expects monogamy, many people still engage in infidelity. In a study of American couples, Tafoya & Spitzberg (2007) found that 20%-40% of married heterosexual men and 20%-25% of married heterosexual women are likely to engage in an extramarital affair during their lifetime. Additionally, approximately 2%-4% of American males and females registered positive results to cheating in the past one year when polled and 70% of American dating couple's report the incidence of infidelity (Allen &Baucom, 2006).According to Tsapelas, Fisher, & Aron (2010), Infidelity has been in existence since the medieval civilization. Literature has documented cheating in history and tribal societies. Fisher (as cited in Tsapelas, Fisher, & Aron 2010) argues that infidelity was a common factor among the historical Japanese, Hindus, Chinese, and the traditional Inuit of the Arctic. The turn of Tanzania, of yarn of Nigeria and ki kuru of the jungles of Brazil all engaged in infidelity. This literature implores that infidelity is has been a historical phenomenon and continues to attract the research in various concepts.
Studies have documented various causes of infidelity, Azzouz, (2010) categorically differentiate causes of infidelity by danger and state that factors that lead to infidelity among women is not the same as factors that lead to infidelity among men. While men cheat because they are looking for sex, women cheat because they are looking for attention (Azzouz, 2010). Additionally, studies have noted that the degree of satisfaction within the primary relationship. Known as the deficit model of infidelity, the degree to which the relationship is satisfying, the degree of love felt for a primary partner and the frequency of sex and quality with the main partner. Emerging studies have also highlighted the role of adventure and communication between partners as the potential cause for cheating (Crawford, 2014). Myer (2013) blame cheating to inherent rigidity inculcated into humanity from time immemorial. That it is innate nature of human being to cheat. Similar thoughts are shared by Whisman & Snyder, (2007) who blame abusive childhood as the genesis of cheating among adults. Those children who grew up aware of their parent's philandering ways were most likely to cheat.
In the wake of such a rich literature on why people cheat, the goals of this study are thus to develop the studies and determine the specific reasons why people are most likely to engage in cheating in relationships. The goal is to identify the characteristics that are predominant in cheating partners and what victim features make them susceptible to cheating. To do so, the paper will attempt to answer two questions.
1 What individual characteristic predisposes one to engage in cheating? Under this category, the paper seeks to examine the role played by age, gender, depressive symptoms, self-worth, and drug use.
2 What reasons are given by individual for cheating on their partners? The paper seeks to understand the various excuses employed by the cheating partners. It will attempt to understand the validity of the explanations and their correlation to findings on the literature review.
Methodology
The study was conducted among adult of 30-50 years of age. A sample of 50 individuals was interviewed. The sample was recruited through emails, and the questionnaire was self-administered with anonymity held to ensure full confidentiality. The sample was representative of cultural background. Out of the 50 sampled participants, White contributed to 60%, Hispanic /Latino made 8% of the population, African American were 9% , pacific Islander, 9% and Native American 7% while the Indian American were 7% of the total sample. The questionnaires were sent through emails using a stamped envelope, and they were to fill and send the questionnaire back. Before t...