Alexithymia, Loneliness and Fear of Intimacy: Predictors of Attitudes Toward Infidelity in Men

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of alexithymia, loneliness and fear of intimacy in attitudes to infidelity in men. The research was descriptive-correlational and the statistical population consisted of all male employees of the hadian company of Tehran municipality. Out of this statistical population, 261 people were selected as convenience sampling. Attitudes toward infidelity scale of Whathley (2008), Toronto alexithymia scale (1994), fear of intimacy scale of Descutner & Thelen (1991) and loneliness scale of Russell & Peplau & Cutrona (1980) were used for data collection. Correlation test and standard regression were used to data analysis. Pearson correlation showed that there is a positive and significant correlation between alexithymia, loneliness and fear of intimacy with attitudes toward infidelity (P <0.001). In addition, the results of regression analysis indicated that alexithymia, loneliness and fear of intimacy were able to anticipate the attitudes toward infidelity with 0.31, 0.15 & 0.14. According to the findings, it can be concluded that alexithymia, loneliness, and fear of intimacy are the most important factors affecting attitudes toward infidelity in men; therefore, they should be improved by mean of appropriate training in order to reduce infidelity among men.