Comparing the Causes of Infidelity in Marital Relationships among Men and Women: A Qualitative Research

Today, the evidence and unofficial indications for disturbing society show the marital infidelity as one of the hidden social problems. In this study, the underlying factors of infidelity in marital relationships among women and men were identified and compared. Moreover, some basic guidelines and practical suggestions on preventing and reducing marital infidelity and strengthening the family relations were presented.
Using qualitative content analysis methodology, and according to the purposive sampling method and theoretical saturation criterion, 40 unfaithful married men and 32 unfaithful married women participated in the study. Data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews.
Through data analysis, 5 main themes were extracted. These themes consisted of “emotional and behavioral problems in marital relationships”, “sexual dissatisfaction”, “attitudes and individual characteristics”, “paternal family problems”, and “social factors”.
Based on the study findings, although majority of male and female participants mentioned sexual dissatisfaction (low quantity and quality) and emotional dissatisfaction as the main reason for their unfaithfulness, respectively, the impact of other paternal family problems, social factors, and attitudes and individual characteristics must be also regarded.