Parents more likely to cheat during COVID: study

By Stephen Beech

Parents were more likely to cheat on their partners during the COVID pandemic, reveals new research.

Moms and dads were more prone to having an affair than people who didn't have children, according to the study.

A survey of 1,070 American adults who were in committed, heterosexual relationships during the first year of the pandemic found parents were more likely than non-parents to report an increased desire for infidelity since before COVID.

They were also more likely to have actually cheated on their partner during the pandemic, according to the findings published in the journal PLOS One.

Study author Dr. Jessica Campbell, of Indiana University Bloomington, said: "Prior research has suggested that Covid-19 pandemic conditions strained many romantic and sexual relationships.

"Other research suggests that high stress and relationship dissatisfaction may prompt some people to consider engaging in romantic or sexual infidelity.

"However, few studies have specifically explored how the pandemic may have influenced infidelity-related desires and behaviors."

Dr. Campbell and her colleagues analyzed data from the survey, which included questions about parenthood and whether the participant had engaged in any actions that their partner would consider to be infidelity.

She said: "Statistical analysis of the survey answers showed that, in general, parents reported higher levels of amplified desire for - and engagement in -infidelity during the pandemic compared to non-parents.

"The analysis also showed that men were more likely than women to report that their desire to engage in infidelity increased during the pandemic, and more likely to report having cheated.

"These findings align with a large body of prior research on gender differences in infidelity."

The researchers hypothesized that male parents would report the highest levels of cheating and elevated desire for infidelity.

But the findings actually showed that moms and dads in the study showed similar patterns, suggesting that the pandemic’s impact on infidelity may have been experienced more broadly across genders.

Dr. Campbell said: "These results suggest that, for parents and men in particular, periods of high external stress may intensify vulnerabilities that lead to cheating."

She added: "Targeted support for these individuals and their relationships may be especially important when navigating periods of collective or personal strain.”