"The results obtained for romantic infidelity are emblematic:

More than one third of females indicated strong guilt even when they wished to betray their partner. In contrast, two thirds of men claimed that desiring an extramarital sexual relationship was not negative. One possible explanation of this finding is that women in our sample were sensitive to traditional norms regarding romantic infedility, that imply it should be avoided by women more than by men.

In Italy, like in many other countries, there is a double standard concerning sexual fidelity, with women receiving more disapproval for sexual infidelity than men. As a consequence, it is not surprising that women report guilt when violating such a social norm. On the other hand, men's infidelity is often tolerated and even admired.

Another interesting finding regards the wish to leave one's partner. Although a partner's wish to terminate a relationship does not necessarily involve either a decision to terminate or an actual termination, such a wish typically spoils the relationship and may represent a threat to the partner. Nevertheless, a desire to end a relationship may be one way of expressing one's dissatisfaction, and this seems to be especially true for women, who, more than men, take the initiative to end relationships and ask for divorce.

It is not surprising that in our study a greater proportion of men (ca. 60%) claimed that they never thought about leaving their partner, while almost eighty percent of women considered this idea, and either felt guilty or claimed that their wish was not negative..."

It’s All About Relationships
Comunian, Anna Laura; Gielen, Uwe P. (Eds.)