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Once a Cheater, Always a Cheater? Serial Infidelity Across Subsequent Relationships

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Abstract

Although there is a large body of research addressing predictors of relationship infidelity, no study to our knowledge has specifically addressed infidelity in a previous relationship as a risk factor for infidelity in a subsequent relationship. The current study addressed risk for serial infidelity by following adult participants (N = 484) longitudinally through two mixed-gender romantic relationships. Participants reported their own extra-dyadic sexual involvement (ESI) (i.e., having sexual relations with someone other than their partner) as well as both known and suspected ESI on the part of their partners in each romantic relationship. Findings from logistic regressions showed that those who reported engaging in ESI in the first relationship were three times more likely to report engaging in ESI in their next relationship compared to those who did not report engaging in ESI in the first relationship. Similarly, compared to those who reported that their first-relationship partners did not engage in ESI, those who knew that their partners in the first relationships had engaged in ESI were twice as likely to report the same behavior from their next relationship partners. Those who suspected their first-relationship partners of ESI were four times more likely to report suspicion of partner ESI again in their next relationships. These findings controlled for demographic risk factors for infidelity and held regardless of respondent gender or marital status. Thus, prior infidelity emerged as an important risk factor for infidelity in next relationships. Implications for novel intervention targets for prevention of serial relationship infidelity are discussed.

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Acknowledgements

Research reported in this publication was supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health [Award Number R01HD047564]. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

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  1. Department of Psychology, University of Denver, 2155 S. Race St., Denver, CO, 80208-3500, USA

    Kayla Knopp, Lane Ritchie, Galena K. Rhoades, Howard J. Markman & Scott M. Stanley

  2. Veterans Affairs Eastern Colorado Health Care System, Denver, CO, USA

    Shelby Scott

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  1. Kayla Knopp
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  2. Shelby Scott
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  3. Lane Ritchie
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  4. Galena K. Rhoades
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Correspondence to Kayla Knopp.

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Knopp, K., Scott, S., Ritchie, L. et al. Once a Cheater, Always a Cheater? Serial Infidelity Across Subsequent Relationships. Arch Sex Behav 46, 2301–2311 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-017-1018-1

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