Predicting Marital Infidelity based on Sexual Function and Lovemaking Styles in Couples

Abstract

Aim: The present study aimed to predict marital infidelity based on sexual function and lovemaking styles in couples. Method: The study was correlational and its statistical population consisted of all couples who experienced infidelity (by virtual relationship, text messages, phone calls, and sexual intercourse) during their married life at least 3 years after their marriage and visited counseling centers in Tehran to solve their problems. 240 of them were selected as the samples using the multi-stage cluster sampling method. The research instruments included the extramarital affair attitude questionnaire by Whatley (2008), the sexual function questionnaire by Farajnia et al. (2014), and the lovemaking style questionnaire by Sternberg (1997) with acceptable validity and reliability. The inferential statistics of Pearson correlation coefficient and multivariate regression in addition to SPSS-23 were used to analyze the data. Results: There was a significant relationship between marital infidelity and sexual function and also between marital infidelity and lovemaking styles (R2=0.56) that indicated marital infidelity. According to the results, sexual function with a beta coefficient of -0.27 and lovemaking styles with a beta coefficient of -0.16 predicted marital infidelity. Conclusion: There was a positive and significant relationship between love and the continuation of a romantic relationship, and the more love and affection were between couples, the more commitment, and satisfaction they had.