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Kiwani MackResearch PaperIntro to MaritalThesisInfidelity can be a devastating experience for a couple and is often considered to be a justification for divorce. There may be factors which contribute to the experience of infidelity. These may include secrecy, attachment style, difficulty with understanding and naming emotions, and low relationship satisfaction over a variety of factors (Martin, pp5). DiscussionWhile some research has focused specifically on infidelity risk factors, information has also come to light through related research. The treatment of a couple with infidelity is of interest. A specific strategy was used in an article by Snyder et al. While the purpose of the research article was to prove the efficacy of a specific intervention strategy in preventing negative mental health outcomes, the research uncovered specific factors which the researchers believed led to the vulnerability of both the couple and the offending spouse. This was, however, a case study with a single couple, and the research has not been applied toward a larger sample. The purpose and results of the study, further, were around the interventions rather than any other factors and the discovery of risk factors was simply incidental to the investigation. Interestingly, the spouses had very different social and emotional styles, and the offending spouse was introverted, low in emotional expression, and had difficulty with naming and understanding his emotional experiences. Introversion and low emotional expression were not, in my review of the research, typical of offending spouses. In fact, the contrary was true. Much of the research would indicate that the more extraverted non-offending spouse was more likely to be unfaithful. The partners were evaluated based on the Big Five scale. The offending spouse scored very low on openness. Openness is more characteristic of offending than non-offending spouses. Both spouses scored high on agreeableness, another protective factor. It might appear that the couple does not indicate that there are traits which impact infidelity susceptibility. However, the researchers thought that the offending spouse’s emotional ignorance may have made it impossible for him to recognize that he had feelings for other women and was at risk for expressing them. Also, both partners showed significant differences in Big Five qualities, most notably in openness. Differences in this characteristic was a risk factor per Tsapelas et al (pp 12). There have been studies on attachment type as a predictor of infidelity. Russell et al researched two groups of married heterosexual couples. One group consisted of 72 and the other of 135 new couples. The couples were recently married at the time the research began. Surveys were conducted to measure both personality (specifically attachment style) and infidelity occurrence over a period of years. The researchers expected to find that both avoidant and anxious attachment types were a predictor of infidelity in an individual. However, only anxious attachment type appeared to be correlated with infidelity. Avoidant attachment was not associated with infidelity. Further, there was a correlation when both partners were anxious in attachment. No other couple combination was significant. Gender was not relevant. This contradicted prior studies, which had found anxiety irrelevant and avoidance relevant, and indicates that more research is necessary. Other studies had also found that gender was relevant.Tsapelas et al summarized the information from a vast number of studies and makes a cohesive philosophical argument. It does not condemn infidelity, which may have positive evolutionary aspects and which might lead to personal growth through the development of new relationships. It assumes that monogamy is the natural state of people, citing the fact that, although the vast majority of cultures allow polygamy, monogamy is the overwhelming norm everywhere. In other words, even when it is culturally acceptable to have multiple partners, most people choose to have one partner. Further, even though partnership is no longer absolutely socially mandated in many western countries, most people still choose to get married. However, infidelity is a frequent experience, now and historically, here and abroad. This is despite a strong and sometimes violently enforced social sanction. Even adulterers generally hold that adultery is wrong and even in the absence of legal sanctions or spousal aggression infidelity can seriously impact the perpetrator. The researchers examine the strange social phenomena of adultery and identified several factors which might contribute to the risk of a relationship or of a specific individual of experiencing adultery. Factors identified include attachment style ( in the cited study, avoidant attachment in males and anxious attachment in females), marital dissatisfaction, lack of relationship investment, lack of personal growth in primary relationship, personality traits (such as extroversion, openness to new experiences, susceptibility to boredom, higher neuroticism, lower agreeableness, lower conscientiousness, and low positive adjustment, on the Big Five scale), personality of spouse (having a spouse with low conscientiousness or agreeableness on the Big Five scale), dissimilarity of spouse (in agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, or openness), and psychological problems (such as psychopathy, narcissism, and depression). There are also other factors, such as having an unfaithful father, considering oneself more desirable than one’s spouse, differing levels of education, higher income, and length of relationship. There are gender related factors. Men in general and men who drink excessively are more likely to have affairs. Women who have experienced sexual abuse and women who perceive themselves as dominant in their relationship are more likely to have affairs. There may be biological factors which allow certain mammals, including humans, to form exclusive relationships. This may require specific biological reactions and brain structure. Some people may be deficient in these areas. Animal research has indicated a strong biological role in forming attachments (Tsapelas pp 23). Having a spouse with a similar genetic structure is also a risk factor for infidelity, possibly supporting the idea that infidelity is a reproductive strategy. However, people generally find mates with different genetic structures more attractive, possibly as a natural defense against incest, and the study cited only showed that people were typically more attracted to people with different genetic structures. Leaping to a risk of adultery seems like a stretch. The authors recommended expanding research beyond white middle class heterosexuals (the limited research available indicates that income, culture, race, and sexual orientation may impact the experience of couples with infidelity), investigating diminishing gender differences in infidelity behavior (which suggests more cultural and fewer natural factors), using surveys to reduce reporting error (people are unlikely to admit to cheating face-to-face), investigating the possibility that infidelity is actually a good thing ( an evolutionary reproductive strategy that increases the potential of attractive people having children which may have positive personal repercussions for the adulterer), and general investigation of the variables which seem to impact susceptibility of couples to experiencing and individuals to committing adultery. The article might lead one to believe that infidelity is predictable and the natural result of certain situations and factors. However, the risk factors are neither necessary nor sufficient to infidelity. Infidelity occurs in happy relationships-in fact, most men who commit adultery do not experience marital dissatisfaction, along with a significant minority of female offenders (Tsapelas pp 21).Supporting ArgumentsSeveral research studies have indicated that there are reasons why people cheat. This includes factors which pre-incline the offending party to commit adultery and factors which make a couple vulnerable to one of the party’s straying. Apparently, fear of losing a relationship can lead people, especially women, to jeopardize it further by adultery. Dissimilarity, stressful experiences, mental illness, unhappy marriages, and personality factors have been correlated with affairs. There seems to be an increase in affairs when infidelity is more acceptable. The gender gap is narrowing. Gay couples experience more infidelity than heterosexual couples. People who look down on their partners look elsewhere. Dissatisfied partners look elsewhere. Opportunity, whether caused by wealth or natural extraversion and openness, seems to make a difference (Tsapelas). People lacking conscientiousness or emotional intelligence may not be able or willing to see that they are entering a situation where infidelity is an option (Snyder).This indicates that there are a range of social, individual, and couple factors which lead to increased risk of adultery. This would explain why more women have affairs now than previously, why marital satisfaction predicts infidelity in females, and why there are associations between personality traits and infidelity occurrence. While all of these factors have not been identified, it does not appear that cheating “just happens”. Awareness of these factors can help prevent recurrence of adultery and has important implications for treatment.Opposing ArgumentsA long term study of 134 heterosexual married couples who sought therapy found that infidelity did not seem to be a significant factor in therapy success (Martin, 2014), unless the affair was kept secret during therapy. The purpose of the study was to determine if therapy was effective with couples who had the experience of infidelity, but it determined that secrecy is a factor in relationship survival, indicating that there are factors which influence relationship survival after affairs. This was determined by using surveys over five years. They were compared with surveys given to couples who had sought therapy without experiencing infidelity. Both divorce rates and marital satisfaction were examined, and showed similar results regardless of infidelity experience. A slight majority of couples who had openly admitted infidelity experience during therapy stayed together, but 80% of those who did not reveal did not. The study showed that relationships do not have to end because of infidelity and that therapy seems to be at least somewhat effective in treating these couples. However, as the authors noted, no factors other than whether or not the affair was a secret during therapy were examined and more research would be needed in order to determine if there were other factors which contributed to the success of these specific couples. This article indicates that infidelity does not significantly impact treatment outcome, indicating that couples who commit adultery are not different than other couples, unless the element of secrecy is introduced. This would appear to contradict the idea that infidelity is a special situation. While there are correlations between infidelity and other factors, the factors have not been consistent across studies. Many people with the personality traits correlated with infidelity do not commit adultery and many without them do. People who are happy in their marriage and love their spouses are unfaithful. People commit adultery in countries where the penalty is death. Conversely, being miserable in a relationship or having minimal reason not to cheat does not foreordain adultery. The main factor in infidelity, individual choice, is still unlikely to be categorized. Results:It is impossible to say for certain that any specific attribute predicts adultery. Scientific studies are difficult with this subject, since researchers do not control the factors and can, at best, make comparisons between groups. There are inconsistencies in the research. For example, the study found that anxiety was correlated more in women and that avoidance was correlated in men, but the other study found no avoidance correlation or gender differences. However, research does indicate that there may be a correlation between certain traits and experiences and the likelihood of having an affair.Reference Page:Martin, R. A., Atkins, D. & Christensen, A. (2014). Infidelity and Behavioral Couple Therapy: Relationship Outcomes Over 5 Years Following Therapy. Couple and Family Psychology: Research and Practice, Volume 3, No. 1, 1-12. DOI: 10.1037/cfp000001Snyder, D.K., Balderrama-Durbin, C., & Fissette, C. L., (2012) Treating Infidelity and Comorbid Depression: A Case Study Involving Military Deployment. Couple and Family Psychology: Research and Practice, Vol. 1, No. 3, 213-225. DOI: 10.1037/a0029919Russell, V.M., Baker, L.R., & Mcnulty, J.K. (2013) Attachment Insecurity and Infidelity in Marriage: Do Studies of Dating Relationships Really Inform Us about Marriage? Journal of Family Psychology, Vol. 2, 242-251, DOI: 10.1037/a0032118Tsapelas, I, Fisher, H. E., & Aron, A. (2010) “Infidelity: when, where, why.” IN WR Cupach and BH Spitzberg, The Dark Side of Close Relationships II, New York: Routledge, pp 175-196. ................
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