Adultery

Sexual intercourse between a married person and an individual other than the legal spouse. In many countries, adultery has in the past been the principle and often the only ground for divorce. In earlier periods, adultery was even punishable by death. Various published surveys indicate that at least 50% of married men and women admit to having sexual intercourse with a person other than their spouse after marriage. Despite legal and cultural prohibitions, adultery apparently has persisted throughout history and in communities with strict moral controls. In the People's Republic of China in the 1980s, for example, adultery was given as a reason for nearly 25% of divorces.

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