Some 60 years ago, Alfred Kinsey delivered a shock to midcentury sexual sensibilities when he reported that at some point in their marriages, half of the men and a quarter of the women in the U.S. had an extramarital affair. No one puts much stock in Dr. Kinsey's high numbers any more - his sampling methods suffered from a raging case of selection bias - but his results fit the long-standing assumption that men are much more likely to cheat than women.
大約60年前，金賽(Alfred Kinsey)的研究為二十世紀(jì)中葉人們對性問題的感知帶來震撼，當(dāng)時(shí)他在研究報(bào)告中稱，在婚姻的某一階段，美國半數(shù)的男性和四分之一的女性都會(huì)發(fā)生婚外情。如今人們對金賽得出的高出軌率已經(jīng)不是非常重視了（他的取樣方法存在嚴(yán)重的選擇偏差），但他的結(jié)果符合人們長期以來的假設(shè)，即男性欺騙伴侶的可能性要比女性大得多。

Lately, however, researchers have been raising doubts about this view: They believe that the incidence of unfaithfulness among wives may be approaching that of husbands. The lasting costs of these betrayals will be familiar to the many Americans who have experienced divorce as spouses or children.
但研究者近期對這種觀點(diǎn)提出了質(zhì)疑：他們認(rèn)為，妻子的不忠行為發(fā)生幾率可能與丈夫接近。這些背叛行為的長期代價(jià)為許多與配偶離過婚或經(jīng)歷過父母離婚的美國人所熟知。

Among the most reliable studies on this issue is the General Social Survey, sponsored by the National Science Foundation, which has been asking Americans the same questions since 1972. In the 2010 survey, 19% of men said that they had been unfaithful at some point during their marriages, down from 21% in 1991. Women who reported having an affair increased from 11% in 1991 to 14% in 2010.
有關(guān)該問題的最可靠研究之一當(dāng)屬“綜合社會(huì)調(diào)查”(General Social Survey)，這項(xiàng)研究由美國國家科學(xué)基金會(huì)(National Science Foundation)資助，從1972年開始向美國人詢問同一批問題。在2010年的調(diào)查中，19%的男性表示，他們在婚姻的某個(gè)階段曾有不忠行為，這一比例低于1991年的21%。而自述存在婚外情的女性比例由1991年的11%升至2010年的14%。

A 2011 study conducted by Indiana University, the Kinsey Institute and the University of Guelph found much less of a divide: 23% for men and 19% for women. Such numbers suggest the disappearance of the infidelity gender gap, but some caution is in order.
印第安納大學(xué)(Indiana University)、金賽研究所(Kinsey Institute)和圭爾夫大學(xué)(University of Guelph) 2011年一項(xiàng)研究發(fā)現(xiàn)的性別差距要小得多：男性為23%，女性為19%。上述數(shù)據(jù)暗示，兩性之間在不忠行為上的差異趨于消失，但我們應(yīng)該審慎地看待該數(shù)據(jù)。

An enduring problem for researchers - even those who sample with meticulous care - is that any such survey is asking for confessions from people who are presumably lying to their spouses. Researchers generally believe that actual infidelity numbers are higher than the results indicate.
研究者──即便是那些取樣時(shí)小心謹(jǐn)慎的研究者──一直面臨的問題是，任何此類調(diào)查都要求那些很可能對伴侶撒了謊的人坦白自己的越軌行為。研究者一般認(rèn)為，不忠行為的實(shí)際數(shù)字要比調(diào)查結(jié)果所顯示的高。

It should also be emphasized that cheating in the U.S. isn't epidemic or inevitable, for either sex. Surveys consistently find that by far the majority of respondents value monogamy and think that infidelity is harmful. And if you believe the General Social Survey's finding that 14% of women are cheating, keep in mind that 86% aren't.
但也應(yīng)該強(qiáng)調(diào)，在美國，無論對男性還是女性來說，欺騙都既非普遍行為，也非不可避免。多次調(diào)查均一致顯示，到目前為止，多數(shù)受訪者都珍視一夫一妻制，并認(rèn)為不忠行為是有害的。假如你相信“綜合社會(huì)調(diào)查”結(jié)果是真實(shí)的，即14%的女性有欺騙行為，那么同時(shí)也請記住86%的女性并沒有欺騙伴侶。

Still, even though survey accuracy is difficult to achieve and experts are by no means unanimous, it would appear that women are, indeed, catching up. In my own work as a psychologist and in my social circle, I see more women not only having affairs but actively seeking them out. Their reasons are familiar: validation of their attractiveness, emotional connection, appreciation, ego - not to mention the thrill of a shiny new relationship, unburdened by the long slog through the realities of coupledom.
不過，雖說調(diào)查很難做到精確無誤，專家們的意見也不盡一致，但女性不忠行為的比例似乎確實(shí)在追趕男性。從我作為心理學(xué)家的工作經(jīng)歷和我的社交圈來看，我發(fā)現(xiàn)有更多女性不僅有婚外情，而且在積極尋找婚外情。她們的理由聽起來很耳熟：證明她們的吸引力、情感聯(lián)系、欣賞、自我──更不用說對一種全新關(guān)系的渴望了（這種關(guān)系不受婚姻中的長期重壓羈絆）。

Researchers also point to other factors that might be leading women to stray more. One is what might be called 'infidelity overload.' Scan the plots on any given week in television, and there seems to be more extramarital sex than marital sex. (Few spouses stay put in 'Mad Men.') With women portrayed as eager participants and aggressive instigators, there may be a feeling that infidelity has become more acceptable.
研究者還指出了可能導(dǎo)致女性外遇增加的其他因素。其中之一也許可以稱為“不忠主題泛濫”。不論哪一周的電視節(jié)目，情節(jié)中出現(xiàn)較多的似乎都是婚外情，而婚內(nèi)情則出現(xiàn)得比較少。（電視劇“廣告狂人”(Mad Men)中的夫妻幾乎沒有不出軌的）女性被描述為熱心的參與者和積極的發(fā)起者，人們可能會(huì)感覺社會(huì)對不忠行為的接受程度增加了。And then there is the opportunity factor - more travel, more late nights on the job and more interaction with men mean that the chances and temptations to stray have multiplied for the new generation of working women.
另外還存在一個(gè)機(jī)會(huì)因素──對新一代職業(yè)女性來說，更多的旅行，更多時(shí)候要工作到深夜以及與男性交往增加意味著外遇的機(jī)會(huì)和誘惑成倍上升。

A 2011 study at Tilburg University in the Netherlands, published in the journal Psychological Science, argues that infidelity is also a function of greater economic and social power, which creates confidence and personal leverage for both genders. Women can now use their power in ways to which men have long been accustomed.
荷蘭蒂爾堡大學(xué)(Tilburg University) 2011年展開的一項(xiàng)研究稱，不忠行為也能作為一種較大的經(jīng)濟(jì)和社會(huì)力量，為男性和女性帶來信心和個(gè)人優(yōu)勢。女性現(xiàn)在能夠以男性早已習(xí)慣的方式運(yùn)用她們的力量。此項(xiàng)研究論文刊登在《心理科學(xué)》(Psychological Science)期刊上。

A broader cultural shift may also be at work. According to a Match.com study conducted earlier this year by the biological anthropologist Helen Fisher, women are becoming less traditional about relationships. Men, interestingly, may be going the other direction. In the survey, 77% of women in a committed relationship said they needed personal space, as opposed to 58% of men. While 35% of women wanted regular nights out with friends, only 23% of men said the same.
此外，更廣泛的文化變遷可能也是一大影響因素。生物人類學(xué)家費(fèi)舍爾(Helen Fisher)今年早些時(shí)候?yàn)榻挥丫W(wǎng)站Match.com進(jìn)行了一項(xiàng)研究，研究顯示，女性對待兩性關(guān)系的態(tài)度變得越來越非傳統(tǒng)。有意思的是，男性可能正走向相反方向。在調(diào)查中，有77%的處于承諾性關(guān)系中的女性表示她們需要個(gè)人空間，而男性的比例為58%。35%的女性希望晚上經(jīng)常外出與朋友會(huì)面，但僅有23%的男性持同樣看法。

Social networks are another factor, if only by expanding the pool of possible partners. Emotional friendships that turn physical are the traditional point of entry for female affairs. It is now easy for those friendships to take root online. Some argue that social networks are merely an expediter and that cheaters will always find a way. Still, if you've never quite gotten over your prom date, today the chances are much better that you can find him.
另一大因素當(dāng)屬社交網(wǎng)絡(luò)，哪怕社交網(wǎng)絡(luò)只是起到拓寬伴侶人選范圍的作用。從傳統(tǒng)上來看，精神層面的友誼變?yōu)槿怏w出軌是觸發(fā)女性婚外情的導(dǎo)火索?，F(xiàn)在很容易從網(wǎng)上開始發(fā)展這種友誼。一些人認(rèn)為社交網(wǎng)絡(luò)不過是助推器而已，即使沒有社交網(wǎng)絡(luò)，出軌者也總能找到辦法。不過，如果你一直不曾忘懷畢業(yè)舞會(huì)的舞伴，如今找到他的幾率可要比從前大得多了。

Do women account for more of today's affairs? Probably. But in a society that has been preaching, legislating and celebrating gender equality for decades, equality in marital misdeeds might be expected too.
如今女性在婚外情中所占比例是不是更大？很可能如此。但近幾十年來，我們的社會(huì)一直在宣揚(yáng)和贊美性別平等，并進(jìn)行相關(guān)立法，也許我們也應(yīng)該對婚姻越軌中的性別平等有所預(yù)料。

(Dr. Drexler is an assistant professor of psychology in psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College and author, most recently, of 'Our Fathers, Ourselves: Daughters, Fathers and the Changing American Family.')
（Drexler博士是紐約威爾康奈爾醫(yī)學(xué)院(Weill Cornell Medical College)的精神病心理學(xué)助理教授，她的最新著作是《我們的父親，我們自己：女兒、父親和不斷變化的美國家庭》(Our Fathers, Ourselves: Daughters, Fathers and the Changing American Family)。）