New research suggests that whether your marriage is plagued by cheating or not all depends on the income gap between you and your partner.

According to the study findings, one is more likely to cheat if they are financially-dependent on their spouse. Men especially, were found to be more likely to cheat if they depended on their wives.

The researchers from the University of Connecticut in the US looked into over 2,700 individuals over a period of 11 years.

All the study subjects were part of a heterosexual couple and were aged between 18 and 32 and had been in the same relationship for more than a year by the time of the study. They were asked to answer questions in regard to status at work, their income, dating and marital history as well as sexual behaviour.

Common sense would tell one that is a bad idea to cheat on the person that you are financially dependent on. Nonetheless, the study found that there was a five per cent chance of cheating by women who were completely financially dependent on their husbands.

Men who depended on their wives for money on the other hand were found to be up to 15 percent to cheat. The independent partner on the other hand was found to be likely to remain faithful up to a point.

The men, the study shows, will remain faithful until their share of the family earnings reaches 70 per cent. After this, a man is likely to cheat. Women on the other hand will remain faithful even if she brings in 100 per cent of the family’s earnings.

“We don’t really like inequity and there’s probably something about masculinity that means that men really don’t like it,” said Christin Munsch, who led the study.

Explaining these findings, he said that they are a reflection of how people understand marriage. You might graduate from college at the same time but the man goes out believing that he is supposed to be the breadwinner. Dependence for him can thus seem very threatening.

For the economically dependent men, cheating may be their subconscious way of restoring equity in their relationship.

For the breadwinning wife on the other hand, staying faithful is her way of neutralising the gender deviance in their relationship and thus keeping together a potentially shaky relationship.