Financially Dependent Spouses More Likely To Cheat: Study

A recent study claims that men and women are both more likely to cheat on their spouse if they are financially dependent on them. The claim was made by a team of researchers from the University of Connecticut, who conducted the study in an attempt to understand why spouses are sometimes unfaithful.

During the study, lead researcher Dr. Christin Munsch studied data for almost 9,000 people ages 18 to 32. Records from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth furnished the data. Researchers analyzed the level of relationship between the people, including their level of marital satisfaction. In addition, Munsch monitored the sexual activity of the couples to determine whether they were cheating.

At the end of the study, Munsch found that, on average, 5 percent of financially dependent wives cheated on their husbands, while 15 percent of financially dependent men cheated on their wives in a year. In addition, Munsch also discovered that husbnads who worked, but were not the primary breadwinner, also tended to cheat on their wives.

According to the researchers, a man is less likely to cheat when he earns nearly 70 percent of the total family income. On the other hand, women are less likely to cheat as they earn more money for the family.

“We don’t want to be in relationships with people who make us feel like losers. We like equity in our relationships,” said Munsch, in a statement. “Men in particular don’t like being dependent on another person. There’s something in the combination of not liking inequality and their masculinity that can be dangerous.”

The complete study has been published in the journal American Sociological Review.