The relationship between sexual self-concept and the tendency to extramarital affairs with the mediating role of emotion regulation

The aim of this study was to determine the mediating role of emotion regulation in the relationship between sexual self-concept and the tendency to extramarital relationships. The research method was a correlation. The statistical population included women with experience of infidelity who in 2019 had been referred to the family court and counseling centers and psychological services in Tehran. From this population, 373 people were selected by purposive sampling. The research tools were; the attitudes toward infidelity scale (ATIS) of Whatley (2008), the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ) of Garnfsky et al (2001), and the Multidimensional Sexual Self-Concept Questionnaire (MSSCQ) of Snell (1995). Path analysis was used to analyze the data. The results showed that was significant the indirect effect of sexual self-concept on the tendency to extramarital affairs mediated by negative emotion regulation (β = -0.10 and P = 0.01) and positive emotion regulation (β = -0.04 and P = 0.009). Although was not significant the direct effect of sexual self-concept on the tendency to extramarital affairs (β = 0.10 and P = 0.38), the research model had a good fit. The results indicate a significant mediating role of emotion regulation in the relationship between sexual self-concept and the tendency to extramarital relationships that can be considered in education and interventions to reduce marital infidelity.