Meta-Analysis of Tendency Towards Extramarital Relationships based on Attachment Styles

In a general and comprehensive definition, infidelity or extramarital relationship is the violation of the assumed or determined agreement of the couple regarding emotional or sexual exclusivity.

The aim of the present study is to quantitatively combine the results of these studies using the meta-analysis technique. In this meta-analysis, ten eligible studies that were conducted between 2012 and 2021 were analyzed with CMA2 software. The selected researches have been carried out by means of a survey method and by using the standard questionnaire tool of attitude towards marital infidelity (Whatley) and attachment styles (Hazen and Shaver) in different statistical societies.

Various researches have been conducted on why and how people get involved in extramarital relationships, and the impact of psychological factors such as attachment styles, personality traits, and primary incompatible schemas have been investigated, but the results of researches on the intensity of the impact of these psychological factors are different.

The results of the statistical evaluation show the heterogeneity of the effect size and the lack of publication bias of the studied studies.