Today's Couples: More Staying, Fewer Straying

Speculation on the decline of American marriages may be more than 30 years behind the times. Scientific American reports that a new study presented at last week's American Psychological Association convention by Alliant International University shows that -- much like pairing mini-skirts with eyelet-laced platform boots -- cheating on your significant other was more common in the 1970s than today. In a study of long-term heterosexual and homosexual couples, researchers found that across the board couples were less likely to have an affair than their counterparts from the last time the study was conducted in 1975. But, if affairs were more common in 1975, why does it seem like we are talking about them so much more now? Well, one explanation could lie in the study's other major finding: While more likely to stay monogamous in the end, couples were also more likely to talk about the possibility and implications of having an affair than their earlier counterparts.

Of course, when viewed in combination with higher divorce rates and a later average age of marriage, the study could also indicate a move towards serial monogamy, with couples more likely to split than cheat. Either way, though, both interpretations seem to suggest a healthy level of honesty and openness -- which may mean that the demise of 'til death do us part may have been greatly exaggerated.