Association of Emotional and Cognitive Intimacy With Promiscuous Married Men Through Mediating Role of Attitude Towards Infidelity

Abstract

Background: Promiscuity and attitude towards infidelity can harm family health and cause many family problems. They are also two important reasons for divorce and separation. This study aimed to investigate the association of emotional and cognitive intimacy with promiscuity through the mediating role of attitude towards infidelity in married men. Methods: This applied descriptive study had a correlational design and adopted the structural equation modeling method. The statistical population included all married men in Bushehr (Iran) who visited marriage counseling centers in 2020. A total of 384 married men were selected as the sample using convenience sampling. The research tools included the Personal Assessment of Intimacy in Relationships, Attitudes towards Infidelity Scale, and the Justifications for Extramarital Relationships. Data were analyzed via the Pearson correlation method and structural equation modeling. SPSS version-24 and AMOS-24 were further used for analyzing the data. Results: The results indicated that there was a direct association between emotional intimacy and attitude towards infidelity (β=0.18, P=0.001), cognitive intimacy and attitude towards infidelity (β=-0.62, P=0.001), emotional intimacy and promiscuity (β=0.11, P=0.014), attitude towards infidelity and promiscuity (β=0.68, P=0.001), but there was no a significant association between cognitive intimacy and promiscuity. The findings also revealed a significant relationship of emotional (β=0.19, P=0.009) and cognitive (β=-0.39, P=0.007) intimacy and promiscuity with mediating role of attitude towards infidelity in men. Conclusion: In general, this study revealed that emotional-cognitive intimacy is a predictor of promiscuity. Therefore, the findings can contribute to studies that lead to marital stability.