Cheating Partners Are Raised By Parents Who Do This
When offspring knew their parents had cheated, they were more likely to cheat themselves. It is partly down to subtle messages about relationships passed down from one generation to the next. Parental infidelity indirectly tells offspring that this behavior is acceptable.The study’s authors write that infidelity is reasonably common:
“…infidelity is the single most common reason for relationship dissolution in both dating relationships and marriages.
Moreover, approximately 22%–25% of married men and 11%–15% of married women report having engaged in sexual infidelity, and 75% of male college students and 68% of female college students report having engaged in some form of infidelity in their dating relationships.”
For the research, 1,254 people took part in three separate studies. They were asked about their attitudes towards infidelity, including the extent to which they agreed with statements like:
“Relationship partners should always be faithful.”
“In order to have a successful relationship, individuals should only be involved with their relationship partner.”
They were also asked about the messages they received from their parents about relationships. For example, did they agree with statements like:
“My parents told me that infidelity is sometimes justified.”
“My parents discussed with me the importance of being faithful in romantic relationships.”
The authors explain the results:
“…parental infidelity is associated with offspring’s own likelihood of having engaged in infidelity. Offspring who had knowledge of a parental infidelity were significantly more likely to have engaged in infidelity…”
Naturally, this does not mean that cheating partners can blame their parent’s for their own behavior — everyone makes their own decisions. However, people often take after their parents.
The study was published in the journal Personal Relationships (Weiser & Weigel, 2017).
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