A New Study Examines Infidelity in States Across America

NapLab looked at a sensitive topic for Americans everywhere by mapping survey results, which expose where people have engaged in and experienced the most infidelity. We can see from the results that cheating is, unfortunately, a very common experience, at least for the people who responded to the survey.

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The team’s data yields some surprising results. For example, 100% of respondents in North Carolina, Kentucky, and Alaska said they had cheated or been cheated on. Overall, in every state, over half the respondents said they have been cheated on. These are some hefty statistics.

Overall, these states ranked highest with residents most likely to cheat:

• Hawaii
• Louisiana
• Rhode Island
• Delaware
• Wyoming
• New Hampshire
• Maine
• North Carolina
• New Mexico
• Utah

These are the states where people are most likely to be cheated on:

• Kentucky
• Alaska
• Maryland
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Michigan
• West Virginia
• Oklahoma
• Maine
• South Carolina

Studies like this one can help us take steps to understand why infidelity occurs. Infidelity can be tricky to even define. Some may consider emotional involvement to be cheating, while others only consider physical romantic acts to be cheating. In other relationships, physical acts outside the relationship are acceptable as long as both partners are comfortable with them and the behavior stays within certain boundaries defined by the couple.

The data shows an interesting pattern, which is that more people reported being cheated on than cheating. This makes sense as cheating usually comes with a sense of shame. Not everyone admits to having cheated, but those who have been cheated on feel a sense of pain and outrage that makes them more likely to share their experience. Another interesting pattern is that the number of people who have self-reported that they cheated and have been cheated on is similar. That implies that many people have been both the cheater and the victim. How might that affect someone’s views on infidelity? The survey certainly leads to many more interesting questions.

People cheat for many varied reasons, including personal choices, social pressures, cultural norms, and dissatisfaction. Some couples say financial stress pushes them apart and builds resentment. The data may show some evidence for this, as low-income states like Kentucky and Louisiana rank highly on the list.

The team’s study leads to many more interesting questions to examine. For example, does age have anything to do with cheating rates? Studies seem to indicate it’s a yes. There have also been studies centered on gender, finding that men are more likely to cheat than women. Cultural factors are certainly impactful. A lot of research shows religious couples are less likely to cheat on one another, and the same is true in more conservative regions. This could be an inaccurate depiction, though, since stronger shame and taboos will make people more likely to carefully hide their infidelity and not admit to it. There’s no doubt that this study is a thought-provoking one.