How can you tell if your significant other is going to cheat on you? Do they flirt relentlessly? Did one of their parents cheat? Maybe he's having trouble in bed?
According to researchers, men with sexual performance anxiety are more likely to cheat on their partners, as are men who are risk-takers or easily aroused.
The study, published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior, found that for women, relationship dissatisfaction is the strongest predictor of unfaithfulness.
According to a press release, the study is the first to examine how demographics, interpersonal factors and sexual personality relate to infidelity. Personality characteristics and interpersonal factors for both sexes proved to be more relevant predictors than religion, marital status, education or gender.
The study looked at 506 men and 412 women in monogamous relationships lasting from three months to 43 years, and found only a small difference in the rates of infidelity reported by men and women -- 23 and 19 percent, respectively -- but a big difference in which characteristics indicated an individual's likeliness to cheat.
Confirming the findings of other recent studies, the University of Guelph researchers found that when women are dissatisfied with their relationships they are twice as likely to cheat, and those who feel like they aren't well-matched sexually with their partners are nearly three times as likely.
One of the study's authors, Robin Milhausen, warned that the study should be taken at face value:
"This research might seem to just support sexual stereotypes: Women are just concerned about the relationship, and, for men, once a cheater, always a cheater, regardless of their relationship. But the caveat is that there are a lot of variants and factors that are not explained here that might impact whether someone cheats," she said.
