Effects of attachment and self-esteem on perceptions of infidelity in gay men.

Research indicates that infidelity is one of the primary reasons for relationship dissolution. There are several theories surrounding cheating behavior, but none around how one perceives these acts. Attachment theory and self-esteem have previously been used to explore infidelity in straight populations, but minimally in gay populations. Additionally, cheating behavior and perceptions of cheating have been extensively investigated in straight relationships, but have not been explored in gay relationships. The current study looked to develop a measure to assess perceptions of cheating in gay males, and examined how attachment and self-esteem impacted these perceptions. Participants were 150 males with a mean age of 26.75 (SD = 10.56), recruited from a national crowdsourcing pool and from a large southeastern university, who exclusively identified as gay. Results illuminated 5 factors in the Exploratory Factor Analysis of the cheating measure, including Physical, Unequivocal/Active, Equivocal/Passive, Honesty, and Technology-Related Acts. Comparisons of attachment and self-esteem to each factor found that there were no differences in perceptions of cheating with differing attachment styles, but increased self-esteem in conjunction with a secure attachment style lowered one’s tolerance for cheating. Additionally, exploratory analyses revealed that tolerance for physical acts of infidelity increased with age. Implications for how technology may relate to infidelity and perceptions of infidelity for gay men are examined. Limitations and future directions are discussed.