The possibility of eternal damnation has no sway over whether men stay faithful to their wives, but the possibility of getting caught sure does!

In fact, that possibility is the top deterrent to infidelity for both men and women, according to researchers from the University of New Hampshire and Bryant University.

"People make a cost-benefit calculation when considering whether to have an extramarital affair. This calculation has a connection with biological and socioeconomic factors, and men and women calculate the net benefits from having an affair differently," said Bruce Elmslie, professor of economics at the UNH Whittemore School of Business and Economics and lead author of the study, which was conducted with Edinaldo Tebaldi, assistant professor of economics at Bryant University.

So who is more likely to cheat? That depends if you are a man or a woman.

Men:

• Overall, men are 7 percent more likely to cheat than women, with the likelihood of having an affair increasing with age and peaking when a man is 55 years old. Then it decreases with age.
  
• Men from all economic classes are equally likely to cheat, although those with a college education are 3 percent less likely to have an affair than are men who only have a high school education or less.
  
• Unhappy men are 13 percent more likely to have an affair than happy men.
  
• Religion has no impact on whether men decide to have an affair. "The result that religion does not affect male behavior toward infidelity is consistent with expectations based on biology. As with spousal education, men don't weigh the costs--spousal quality or eternal damnation--when deciding whether or not to have an affair," the researchers said.

• The peak age to cheat is 45 years old, which is logical because the top benefits for women of being unfaithful are biological and socioeconomic.
  
• Women seek out men--even if it's all subconscious--who would be good fathers and have the education and financial stability to provide for a family.
  
• Upper-class women are 8 percent more likely to cheat than middle and lower-class women.
  
• Educational attainment has no impact on the likelihood of cheating, but women who are married to a man who has a college or graduate degree are 3 percent less likely to have an affair. "If a couple divorces because of an extramarital affair, a woman married to a highly educated man will lose income and may not be able to find another partner of similar quality. Men act as if this consideration is not important," Elmslie said.
  
• Unhappy women are 10 percent more likely to cheat when compared with very happy women.
  
• Religious women are 4 percent less likely to have an affair than women who are not religious.

The study findings were published in the journal Kyklos.

--From the Editors at Netscape