People in Positions of Power Are More Likely to Commit Infidelity

There are a number of factors that make a person more or less likely to cheat on a romantic partner. Men, at least historically, are more likely to cheat than women. Certain personality types and traits are more prone to cheating, and new research suggests that certain genes may even play a role in infidelity. In addition, a study from Denmark suggests that people in positions of power are more likely be unfaithful.

Recovering From a Relationship With a Sex Addict

The breakup of a marriage or other romantic relationship is always challenging, but moving on from a failed relationship with someone dealing with sexual addiction can be particularly challenging. The former partners of people with sexual addiction often have their own, sometimes lengthy, process of recovery as they struggle with unresolved questions and feelings, regain trust in themselves and other people and talk about their situation with family and friends.

Does Sexual Infidelity Get People High?

A significant percentage of sexual addicts are married or in some other type of long-term committed relationship, and most of the time they and their partner have agreed to be monogamous — a vow that sex addicts routinely ignore. Usually these men and women say that they love their significant other, and that they don’t want to lose their relationship, yet they cheat, and cheat, and cheat again. They look at and masturbate to online pornography, they engage in sexual acts via webcam on video chat sites, they hire and have sex with prostitutes, they have one-night stands, multiple affairs, and more. And nearly always they rationalize their betrayal with some form of the following lie:

I’m not hurting anyone, because my spouse/partner doesn’t know what I’m doing.

Digital Infidelity Just as Damaging as the Real Thing

A new study has shown that cheating online is just as devastating to relationships as real-world infidelity. With the rise of the Internet has come an increase in using online tools and sites to satisfy sexual and emotional urges. Some people use pornography, others flirt in chat rooms, and some even connect online with old flames or new friends via social media and develop emotional bonds. Whatever forms the online cheating takes, research shows that if it is kept hidden from a partner, it can destroy the relationship.

TV Programs Accused of Glamorizing Infidelity

Infidelity has become a staple of major television programming in recent years. While extramarital affairs have been featured prominently in soap operas for decades, it has taken longer for infidelity to infiltrate primetime programming on a regular basis. The increasingly adulterous nature of popular television has some people worried that infidelity is being glamorized and promoted by such content.

Now, many of the most popular and critically-acclaimed dramas and comedies in the primetime lineup prominently feature or even center around infidelity. The multiple-Emmy winning drama “Mad Men” has scarcely a single character who has not had an extramarital affair, while the main character of another multiple-Emmy winning drama, “Scandal,” is having an affair with the president of the United States. Another show called “Mistresses” focuses entirely on the sexual misconduct of a group of young women.

How to Live with a Sex Addict

Finding out that your partner has a sex addiction can be devastating. First, there is the way in which you found out. Maybe you caught him cheating on you, or you found his enormous stash of pornography. Maybe you even found that he had been using prostitutes. The ways in which sex addiction manifests are disturbing and upsetting. If you and your partner have confronted the issue and decided to work through it, you have a long road ahead. How can you continue living with and loving your sex-addicted partner?

Sex Addict’s Partners: The Importance of Full Disclosure to Them

With sexual addiction it is usually the betrayal of relationship trust caused by consistent lying rather than any specific sexual act that causes the deepest pain to a betrayed spouse or partner. The trauma experienced by a spouse who is forced to live with a sex addict’s secrets and lies is usually quite significant. The sudden realization that a long-term intimate partner has been living a double-life filled with sexual infidelity can cause the cheated on partner to question literally everything about his or her relationship, regardless of whether the cheating has been in-person (affairs, prostitutes, sensual massage, anonymous sex, etc.) or online (porn, webcams, social media, dating/hookup websites and apps, etc.).

How Traumatic is Infidelity?

Most sex addicts do not think about the pain they may be causing to their spouse or long-term partner. It’s not that they don’t care; it’s that they simply avoid thinking about or even considering the damage they are doing. Typically this damage occurs on two levels. First there is the pain and hurt caused by the actual infidelity, and then there is the agony caused by all the lying, secret keeping, and covering up. Oftentimes this second part, the dishonesty, is what ultimately causes the most distress to the cheated on spouse.

Video: Sex Addiction Treatment at SRI

Economic Downturn and Male Promiscuity Connected?

Sex and money, money and sex. The connection has existed for centuries, typically linked with greed or power. However, new research is pointing to a dim financial environment as a possible reason for increasing numbers of men engaging in sex with multiple partners. The research may also turn expert attention toward the reasons why some people may be more prone to love addiction, moving from relationship to relationship to avoid negative feelings or deep-seated fears.