The reasons are varied, but one thing is certain: The cheating gender gap is quickly closing between those under 30. We often think of cheating as a primarily male pursuit, and on the whole, men do cheat more than women. Recent data from the General Social Survey reveals that 20 percent of men and 13 percent of women report having sex with someone other than their spouse while married, and trend data going back to the 1990s suggests that men have always been more likely than women to cheat.
However, that same survey shows that young women have closed the cheating gender gap, with women aged 18 to 29 being slightly more likely to cheat than men in their cohort. In other words, young people are equal opportunity cheaters. Unsurprisingly, the reasons vary, but dissatisfaction in their relationships and the presence of drugs and alcohol are commonly cited causes.
Cheating varies from relationship to relationship and often involves some gray area. Most women have confessed to sex outside their monogamous relationships, although for one, kissing while others had one-night stands, a few had breached the terms of an open or poly relationship.
Social conditioning determines how likely people are to cheat. Women are known to be more sensitive to social pressure than men, and there has always been more pressure on proper sexual behavior in women. Also, they traditionally had fewer opportunities because they were more likely to stay at home with the kids.
