Finns condemn infidelity more strongly than do other Europeans

print this

Finnish attitudes towards infidelity are at their strictest since the beginning of the 1970s, while also being clearly more vehement than anywhere else in Europe.
      The attitudes have become more negative in all age-groups, while the stiffest opinions against cheating on one's partner are expressed by young women.
      The information is based on professor Osmo Kontula’s book Halu ja intohimo (”Desire and Passion”), which was published yesterday.
     
In 1971, more than one-third of all 18 to 34-year-old women agreed to the statement ”you have to be able to accept your husband’s occasional cheating”.
      In 2007, fewer than 5 % of respondents agreed with the statement.
      Even young men have tightened their claims for fidelity, while today 35 to 54-year-old men would allow cheating nearly twice as often as would the younger generation.
      It came as a particular surprise to Kontula that in contrast to the other European countries the tightening of values has continued in Finland even in the new millennium. Among the countries included In Kontula’s survey, Finland was the least tolerant of cheating.
     
The professor explains the trend by ”the renaissance of romance”, implying that feelings and sexuality have become the most essential cohesive force in a relationship.
      ”Previously, married people stayed tightly together even with their teeth clenched. Today infidelity is a much more powerful threat”, he noted.
      Kontula believes that most Finns regard being unfaithful as a worse blow to their marriage than lovelessness would be.
     
A second significant observation reported in the book is that the love-making frequency of Finns continues to decline.
      In the current millennium, people - even couples - have started to replace sexual intercourse with masturbation.
      ”In relationships the frequency of sexual intercourse that takes place on a couple’s common initiative and on mutual agreement is decreasing. The pursuit of spontaneity leads to an apparent decline in frequency”, Kontula reports.
      Another factor leading to a decline in the rate of sexual intercourses is weakened motivation. Why do young women appear to find it more and more difficult to achieve orgasm during intercourse, even though it is easier than ever to find information on sex, asks Kontula with some anxiety.
     
The report does include some good news: understanding of different wants is improving, love-making is becoming more diversified, and men’s erection and sexual stamina problems are on the decline.
      However, quality does not seem to compensate for quantity, according to Kontula.
      ”In relationships, having sex two or three more times in a month could lead to a good level of satisfaction”, Kontula concluded.
      Professor Kontula made a comparative study based on the large sampling surveys from 1971, 1992, 1999, and 2007, included in the Finsex research project conducted by the Family Federation.
      The respondents were in the age bracket from 18 to above 70 years, except in 1971 (to 54 years).
     
For the European comparison, Kontula used questionnaire studies on sex which had been made in Norway, England, France, Portugal, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, and Greece over the period from 1997 through 2001.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  When men were turned into sex machines (5.12.2006)

Links:
  Family Federation

Helsingin Sanomat