A recent survey made an interesting discovery which many people wouldn’t have thought of. It seems that many Americans over 55 engage in extramarital affairs. What is even more surprising is the fact this behavior is more widespread among older people than among younger ones.
- Older people engage in extramarital affairs more than younger people.
- This might have happened because they are now more relaxed and no longer regard such affairs as bad.
- Also, in most of the cases, the other partners probably agreed with their spouse’s affair.
Researchers analyzed data collected during the General Social Survey, and discovered this discrepancy in faithfulness between people younger and older than 55. Around 14 percent of young people reported they had engaged in extramarital sex, as compared to 20 percent of Americans over 55 who did this at least once.
The general number of Americans who cheat on their spouses remained somehow constant, at around 16 percent for the past 30 years. However, if you split it into age groups, there is quite a big difference between them, and the most unlikely age group is actually more unfaithful.
This divergence has started becoming prominent since 2000, when researchers started noticing that more people in their 50s and 60s started practicing extramarital sex. Most of these people have had marriages of 20 or 30 years.
When it comes to the motivation between such a behavior, researchers think there’s something more than a midlife crisis or a long marriage. These people who participated in the survey came of age right when the sexual revolution was flourishing, so they had more sexual partners than the younger participants.
Although many people still have a bad opinion on extramarital affairs, older people now have a more relaxed attitude regarding infidelity. Also, the survey questioned them about extramarital sex and not adultery, so many of these affairs might have happened with the permission of the other spouse.
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