Cheating under the Circumstances in Marital Relationships: The Development and Examination of the Propensity towards Infidelity Scale

Most of the previously developed scales addressing infidelity were developed on young samples in dating relationships and with limited couple experience. The present study proposes an instrument to measure the proneness for infidelity among married people with substantial experience as a couple. Spe...

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Main Authors: Carmen Gabriela Lișman, Andrei Corneliu Holman
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-10-01
Series:Social Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/10/10/392
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author Carmen Gabriela Lișman
Andrei Corneliu Holman
author_facet Carmen Gabriela Lișman
Andrei Corneliu Holman
author_sort Carmen Gabriela Lișman
collection DOAJ
description Most of the previously developed scales addressing infidelity were developed on young samples in dating relationships and with limited couple experience. The present study proposes an instrument to measure the proneness for infidelity among married people with substantial experience as a couple. Specific contexts described by the items, in which unfaithful behavior might occur, were selected from those revealed by previous research on people’s motives of past infidelity. Across two studies (<i>N</i> = 618) we examined the factorial structure and the psychometric characteristics of the Propensity towards Infidelity Scale (PTIS). Results revealed a one-dimensional structure of the PTIS and supported its reliability, its construct, criterion and incremental validity. PTIS emerged as negatively associated with two measures of adherence to moral standards, and positively related to past unfaithful behavior. Furthermore, the new instrument was found to bring a significant contribution in explaining these behaviors beyond two other scales of infidelity intentions.
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spelling doaj.art-8ba7f4350a754b2ebe2f5e16b51302982023-11-22T20:01:12ZengMDPI AGSocial Sciences2076-07602021-10-01101039210.3390/socsci10100392Cheating under the Circumstances in Marital Relationships: The Development and Examination of the Propensity towards Infidelity ScaleCarmen Gabriela Lișman0Andrei Corneliu Holman1Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași, 700554 Iași, RomaniaFaculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași, 700554 Iași, RomaniaMost of the previously developed scales addressing infidelity were developed on young samples in dating relationships and with limited couple experience. The present study proposes an instrument to measure the proneness for infidelity among married people with substantial experience as a couple. Specific contexts described by the items, in which unfaithful behavior might occur, were selected from those revealed by previous research on people’s motives of past infidelity. Across two studies (<i>N</i> = 618) we examined the factorial structure and the psychometric characteristics of the Propensity towards Infidelity Scale (PTIS). Results revealed a one-dimensional structure of the PTIS and supported its reliability, its construct, criterion and incremental validity. PTIS emerged as negatively associated with two measures of adherence to moral standards, and positively related to past unfaithful behavior. Furthermore, the new instrument was found to bring a significant contribution in explaining these behaviors beyond two other scales of infidelity intentions.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/10/10/392infidelitypropensity towards infidelityinfidelity motivesscale developmentmarriage
spellingShingle Carmen Gabriela Lișman
Andrei Corneliu Holman
Cheating under the Circumstances in Marital Relationships: The Development and Examination of the Propensity towards Infidelity Scale
Social Sciences
infidelity
propensity towards infidelity
infidelity motives
scale development
marriage
title Cheating under the Circumstances in Marital Relationships: The Development and Examination of the Propensity towards Infidelity Scale
title_full Cheating under the Circumstances in Marital Relationships: The Development and Examination of the Propensity towards Infidelity Scale
title_fullStr Cheating under the Circumstances in Marital Relationships: The Development and Examination of the Propensity towards Infidelity Scale
title_full_unstemmed Cheating under the Circumstances in Marital Relationships: The Development and Examination of the Propensity towards Infidelity Scale
title_short Cheating under the Circumstances in Marital Relationships: The Development and Examination of the Propensity towards Infidelity Scale
title_sort cheating under the circumstances in marital relationships the development and examination of the propensity towards infidelity scale
topic infidelity
propensity towards infidelity
infidelity motives
scale development
marriage
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/10/10/392
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