Bambi Eloriaga-Amago
Wondering if your significant other will cheat on you down the road? Look to his or her family history to find the answer.
A recent study conducted by Texas Tech and the University of Nevada seems to verify previous research findings that the propensity to cheat may be passed down from parent to child. Over 300 students were surveyed in an effort to establish a connection between the parents’ infidelity and the respondents’ own future likelihood, or prior act, of cheating.
44% of the participants said they had cheated and also had unfaithful parents. While only 22% professed fidelity to their S.O.’s (significant other) despite having unfaithful parents. On a side note, the study also found that fathers tended to cheat more compared to mothers.
Prior studies showing links between infidelity and genetics include one dated 2008 by the Karolinska Institute of Sweden pointing to a specific gene, allele 334, a genetic variation in males that interferes with the brain’s processing of the neurochemical vasopressin, associated with monogamous pair bonding.
Another study is dated 2011, when Czech anthropologists proposed that the Kennedy brothers’ (Robert, John, and Ted) predilection for extramarital affairs stems from their own father’s fondness for romantic encounters outside of marriage.
So the next time you get caught cheating, you can now claim it’s all because of science or genetics. Of course, it’s always up to the other person to buy the explanation, though.
