ABSTRACT
The morality of affairs has been debated for many years and in many different cultures. Some cultures implicitly support a man's right to have affairs, or even several wives, while others have a moral stance against infidelity. Severe marital strain may precipitate extra-marital liaisons or affairs. Frequent travel, overwork, sexual difficulty, or accumulating chronic anger all pose different risk factors from those stemming from individual developmental vulnerability. A man or woman using the internet for sexual interest may be spending time on internet sites and finding heterosexual or homosexual internet partners for emotional exchange and/or for internet sex. For one couple, having a normal but oedipally sexualised child will feel like an attack on the same-sex parent, while for another couple the developmental sexualisation of a teenager threatens. Long-standing sexual difficulty or inactivity pose risks. These surface factors then trigger unconscious issues.
