You probably have a mental image of a cheater as someone young, slick,
and super good-looking. And, while that might be accurate on some level,
new research has found the people most likely to cheat aren’t who you
think they are—they’re your parents and grandparents.
That shocking info comes courtesy of a Study
from
the Institute for Family Studies, which discovered that 20 percent of
married Americans over the age of 55 say they’ve cheated on their
spouse, while “just” 14 percent of married Americans under 55 have had
extramarital affairs. And, not surprisingly, rates of infidelity start
to fall after people hit age 70. The results come from an analysis of
the General Social Survey, a sociological survey that has kept a
historical record of the concerns, experiences, attitudes, and practices
Americans have had since 1972.
It hasn’t always been that way: The study found that younger people were
more likely to have affairs until about 2000, when married people under
55 started cheating less and older people started stepping out on their
spouses more. And that number has really skyrocketed—according to the
data, only 10 percent of older Americans in 1991 said they had cheated
on their spouse.
Of course, a few factors could be at play: Older Americans came of age
in the '60s and '70s, when a sexual revolution was taking place and
infidelity wasn’t frowned on as much. These older American also could
have aged out of the under 55 group and into the “older” group, while
maintaining the same behaviors along the way. They also might be more
willing to open up about extramarital affairs now than they have in the
past. Nicholas H. Wolfinger, the study’s researcher, also points out
that Viagra hit the market about 20 years ago, helping older people have
the sex they might have craved but couldn’t physically have in the
past.
This info may leave you feeling the need for a shower (fair), but there
is some good news in all of this: It looks like marriages might be more
exclusive in the future for younger people. “Barring any unforeseen
developments, we should anticipate a future of more monogamous
marriage,” Wolfinger says.
More Study
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