More older Americans than younger Americans are having More older Americans than younger Americans are having

Report: Older Americans Have More Affairs Than Younger Americans

Mature couple on dateMore older Americans than younger Americans are having extramarital affairs, according to a report by the Institute for Family Studies, a think tank that advocates for marriage and family stability. The report used data from the General Social Survey, a project of the University of Chicago’s National Opinion Research Center.

The increase in affairs coincides with the so-called “graying of divorce.” Though overall divorce rates have fallen in recent decades, Americans older than 50 are twice as likely to divorce as seniors were 20 years ago.

Older Americans More Likely to Have Affairs

The data on extramarital affairs draw from a single survey question: “Have you ever had sex with someone other than your husband or wife while you were married?”

From 2000-2004, people younger than age 55 were more likely to report having an affair. Beginning after 2004, younger people’s rate of extramarital affairs sharply dropped, while older Americans began having more affairs. By 2016, 20% of people older than 55 reported at least one extramarital affair, compared to 14% for respondents younger than 55.

People in their 50s and 60s are the primary drivers of the trend. Baby Boomers reported more extramarital affairs than any other group. Less than 10% of those older than 80 reported having extramarital sex.

What Is Driving the Trend in Extramarital Affairs?

The research did not directly explore why older Americans have more affairs. However, the report’s authors speculate that two factors may be contributing to the trend. Older Americans have been married longer, allowing more time to have affairs. The decline in extramarital affairs among the elderly, however, suggests this does not fully explain the trend. Coming of age during the Sexual Revolution—a social movement that included a time of greater sexual exploration during the 1960s to the 1980s—may also be a factor.

The report notes that people in their 50s and 60s have had, on average, more sexual partners than both younger and older people.

References:

  1. Brown, S. L., & Lin, I. (2012). The gray divorce revolution: Rising divorce among middle-aged and older adults, 1990-2010. The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 67(6), 731-741. doi:10.1093/geronb/gbs089
  2. Jaffe, I. (2014, February 24). Older Americans’ breakups are causing a ‘graying divorce’ trend. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/2014/02/24/282105022/older-americans-breakups-are-causing-a-graying-divorce-trend
  3. Wolfinger, N. H. (2017, July 5). America’s generation gap in extramarital sex. Retrieved from https://ifstudies.org/blog/americas-generation-gap-in-extramarital-sex

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  • Judith

    July 21st, 2017 at 10:00 AM

    I have to say that the findings of this study do not surprise me at all. Almost every one of my older lady friends has had some sort of romantic relationship outside of their marriage at least once, most of them even more of that. I think that what happens is that for many we don’t have that real sexual awakening til later in life and it is at that time when we have fewer responsibilities at home as well as fewer financial concerns that we start feeling a little more free to behave and do as we please.

  • Ed

    July 24th, 2017 at 2:49 PM

    We have been married for more than 40 years so I can’t even imagine what I would have to be going through to make me even think of turning to someone else for comfort. Who else on earth is going to know me as well as she knows me?

  • Cecelia

    November 18th, 2021 at 6:26 PM

    I had my first affair in my late 50’s. My husband had a stroke and I became his caregiver. I am younger than him by almost 10 years and was not ready to give up intimacy. I fell in love with a man in the same situation years ago and we have seen each other when possible, both knowing that neither is prepare to leave a spouse that depends so deeply on us. It helps immensely, adds balance and joy to an otherwise selfless life of caregiving.

  • Craig

    July 4th, 2022 at 4:55 AM

    When I was 31 I met a young lady that was 20 and we became crazy in love. We had no issues except I just felt I was to old for her and called it off. Although we now live half a world away we found each other again. Through the years we kept up communication and we spent a normal day together just having a fun time when she was in the area visiting family. However, she had managed to have some free time come up and we met for the evening 2 days later. I now 68 and her 57, it seemed it would just be a nice congenial meeting. It turned out we just couldn’t take our hands off each other, like it never had ended. Crazy isn’t it. I had never done this before.

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