A Study of the Processes and Contextual Factors of Marital Infidelity

Objective: An increase in postmarital relationships has had adverse consequences. One of the consequences is family dissolution and the breakdown of social units (families). The present study aimed to study the processes and contextual factors of marital infidelity. Methods: This qualitative study was conducted using the grounded theory method. The research population included couples who experienced marital infidelity. A total of 32 participants were selected using the purposive sampling method in 2019. We conducted semistructured interviews with the participants to collect the study data, and the interviews continued until the data saturation. The collected data were systematically analyzed in three stages of open, axial, and selective coding. Results: Analysis of the data collected revealed 51 codes extracted through open coding. Then, the extracted codes were merged into 10 categories via axial coding. These categories included four themes: the formation of the context of marital infidelity, predictions of marital infidelity, engaging in marital infidelity, and the consequences of marital infidelity. Conclusion: Given that marital infidelity is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon, the insights from this study can be used to develop models to identify and prevent predictors of marital infidelity.