Exploring Infidelity Behavior Patterns in a Sample of Peruvian Young Adults: A Latent Class Analysis

Abstract

Infidelity has been widely researched; however, few studies have analyzed its behavioral patterns holistically using a person-centered approach. This study, with a sample of 400 young adults (Mage = 25.28; SD = 7.24), identified patterns of unfaithful behavior by using latent class analysis to classify subgroups with distinct patterns. The 20-item Likert-scale Multidimensional Infidelity Inventory-S (MII-S) was used to assess sexual and emotional infidelity. The results indicated four latent classes: infidelity (15.7%), sexual desire (14.4%), emotional interest (27.2%), and fidelity (42.5%). In addition, age and sex were significantly related to class membership. On the other hand, men were more likely to belong to the sexual desire class and women to the emotional interest and fidelity classes. For sexual orientation or relationship duration, there were no significant differences. Implications for clinical practice and research are discussed.