A friend facebooked me a few weeks asking me to look into the topic of Fidelity. It is a topic worth exploring (especially in the light of the recent Neo saga and his ‘tender grass’), but I fear this topic will require more than a blog or two. It’s like a whole ten year series! I grappled with this topic – how much should I cover in depth and breadth? Faintz….

Ok my valiant attempt to explore this topic in different stages….Let’s start by asking this question: “Who is more likely to cheat – Man or Woman?” and what kind of man or woman are more likely than others to cheat? And is there any tips to spot these people before you jump into a relationship with them?

Read some interesting stuff in my research on this and wanted to bring up some findings. Recently, two economists, Bruce Elmslie, chair of the Department of Economics at University of New Hampshire’s Whittemore School of Business and Economics, and Edinaldo Tebaldi, a professor at Bryant University, researched the economic costs of cheating for men and women. It is unusual in that it looks at infidelity from a cost-benefit analysis, rather than a sociological or psychological point of view.

The answer to the first question:

Tada! No surprises here!

Men Who Are More Likely to Cheat on Their Wife

Married men are 7 percent more likely than married women to commit adultery. And, when a man has an affair, he doesn’t seem to consider the consequences of his actions.

Infidelity for women peaks at 45, the study found. For men, it peaks at age 55.

1.Men who are more likely to commit adultery:

•Live in cities (where there is greater opportunity to escape discovery)

•Do not have a college degree

•Do not belong to any particular socioeconomic group

2.What men do not take into account when having an affair:

•The economic status of the new woman, or her ability to bear children

•Their wife’s educational level

•Religion

“As with spousal education, men don’t weigh the costs — spousal quality or eternal damnation — when deciding whether or not to have an affair,” Elmslie said.

1. Women who are more likely to commit adultery:

• Live in cities (where there is greater opportunity to escape discovery)
• Do not have a college education 
• Regularly skip church (non religious)  
• Are upper class

1. What women do take into account when having an affair:

• Their husband’s educational achievement
• If their new partner can father a child and provide financial stability 
• Religion

These, of course, are statistical findings. And, sometimes the percentages are small.

What’s important about the study, however, is that “Men seem to respond to opportunity and not to our measures of cost.”

In other words, to keep a husband faithful, it’s important to eliminate opportunities for him to stray. Keeping your husband on a tight lease? Any tips to share?

Any comments?