US Study Shows Increase in Number of Women Cheating

Mention the word 'adultery' and chances are, the men always come to mind.

But no more.

It seems that more women are cheating on their spouses - nearly as many as men, reported the International Herald Tribune.

Researchers from the University of Washington found that infidelity is on the rise, and notably, women are closing the adultery gap.

Younger women are also cheating on their spouses nearly as often as men.

The research showed that the lifetime rate of infidelity for men over 60 increased from 20 per cent in 1991 to 28 per cent in 2006. But for women over 60, the increase is even more striking - up from 5 per cent to 15 per cent in that same period.

Mr David Atkins, research associate professor at the University of Washington Centre said: 'If you just ask whether infidelity is going up, you don't see really impressive changes.

'But if you magnify the picture and you start looking at specific gender and age cohorts, we do start to see some pretty significant changes.'

The researchers also said they saw big changes in relatively new marriages.

About 20 per cent of men and 15 per cent of women under 35 say they have been unfaithful, up from about 15 per cent and 12 per cent respectively, according to that report.