Wouldn’t you love to know if your new partner would cheat on you? I know that sounds very appealing because we all wish we could know this and save ourselves the stress of going through heart breaks.
According to a study led by Dr. Dana Weiser, infidelity may be hereditary. After surveying a group of young adults, Dr. Dana Weiser and his team found a strong correlation between parental infidelity and one’s own infidelity history.
The study found that individuals who had a parent cheat are twice as likely to have cheated compared to their peers whose parents have not cheated.
According to Dr Weiser, the study leader, parent infidelity history is associated with a greater likelihood that their child has cheated at least once in their own relationships.
Dr Weiser suggests parents may try to justify their behaviour or paint infidelity as more acceptable, which then impacts their child’s beliefs and behaviours. Parents teach their children about what is acceptable and rewarding in romantic relationships and parents’ behaviours may have some unintended consequences for their children’s own romantic relationships.
This doesn’t suggest you shouldn’t date someone whose parents cheated though as Dr Weiser believes this data does not necessarily mean your partner is more likely to cheat on you. Relationship satisfaction, commitment, impulse control, and personality all play a role in explaining whether someone will cheat.
Phil