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DETERMINANTS OF MEN'S EXTRAMARITAL SEXUAL

EXPERIENCE IN THE PHILIPPINES

Article  in  Philippine Population Review · December 2011

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 51
ARTICLE

DETERMINANTS OF
MEN’S EXTRAMARITAL
SEXUAL EXPERIENCE
IN THE PHILIPPINES
JEOFREY B. ABALOS

ABSTRACT

This paper aims to examine factors influencing men’s extramarital sexual

experience in the Philippines. While several studies have reported on its
prevalence among Filipino men, limited attention has been given to its
determinants. Using the 2003 National Demographic and Health Survey
(NDHS), results show that 21 percent of Filipino men with regular marital
partners have experienced extramarital sex. Those who experienced early
sexual initiation, are infertile, or had ever been in a state of drunkenness
during the three months preceding the survey were more likely to engage in
extramarital sex. Meanwhile, Muslims, or those with low level of education,
and the legally married are less likely to engage in extramarital sex than their
counterparts.

KEYWORDS: extramarital sex, sexual behavior, Filipino men

Abalos, J. (2011). Determinants of men’s extramarital sexual experience in the Philippines. Philippine
Population Review, 10(2), 51-74.
52 P HILIPPINE POPULATION REVIEW VOLUME 10 NUMBER 2 DECEMBER 2011

INTRODUCTION

Extramarital involvement refers to a wide range of behaviors practiced

outside of the traditional marriage that could range from plain flirtation to
actual intercourse (Edwards, 1973; Neubeck, 1969 as cited in Thompson,
1983). Although emotional or sexual contact is not specified, it is assumed
that extramarital involvement includes sexual contact (Sprey, 1972 as cited
in Thompson, 1983). In the Philippines, extramarital involvement ranges
from casual relationships to the keeping of a querida or mistress (Medina,
2001) and is generally considered a male phenomenon (Gonzales, 2003).
Over the years a very strong disapproval against extramarital relations
among Filipinos is observed. In a national survey by Social Weather Stations
(SWS) in 1991 a great majority of the respondents (85%) feel it is ”always
wrong” to have extramarital relations (Sandoval, 1993). Although there is
slight decline over time, this strong disapproval remains to be high at 84
percent in 1998 and 83 percent in 2008 (Mangahas, 2008). Despite the negative
attitude toward this type of sexual behavior, Filipinos still engage in
extramarital sex although statistics are limited due to paucity of data and
the sensitivity of the subject.
Attempts to estimate prevalence and identify the factors associated with
extramarital sex exist, although these are not without shortcomings. Since
earlier studies relied on small and unrepresentative samples, the extent to
which their results can be generalized is very limited. This has also led to
inconsistent and incomparable estimates overtime. For example, Vancio
(1977) found in his study on the state of marriage in Metro Manila that 36
percent of the 173 men respondents and only two percent of 169 women
respondents reported to have engaged in extramarital relations. Meanwhile,
in Alano’s (1994) study, less than one percent of the 106 women respondents
and about three percent of the 94 men respondents admitted to having had
an affair. It is obvious that the seeming disparity in their results is explained
by their varying sampling design. The problem of generalizability brought
about by sampling design encountered by these two studies has been
addressed by the availability of national surveys in recent years.
To get a sense of the national picture on the level of extramarital sex in
the country, estimates from different national surveys in a ten-year period
are presented in Table 1. Because of the disparity in the age range among
 DETERMINANTS OF MEN’S EXTRAMARITAL
SEXUAL EXPERIENCE IN THE PHILIPPINES 53

these surveys, the statistics on extramarital sex yielded are disaggregated

by age-group to arrive at comparable data. Focusing on the 15-27 age group
a considerable increase in the level of extramarital sex is observed. Data
from the Philippines National Safe Motherhood Survey (NSMS) showed
that four percent of Filipino men in union ages 15-27 were perceived by
their wives to have engaged in extramarital sex. The estimate from the 1993
Status of Women and Fertility Survey (SWAF) is lower. Less than one
percent and three percent of the husband and wife respectively reported
that the husband had a mistress or other wife. Meanwhile, a higher estimate
in the level of extramarital sex is observed in 2002 and 2003 at eight and 22
percent respectively.

Table 1: Estimates on the level of extramarital sex among Filipino men in union :
1993-2003

Data Sources
Age group 1993 1993 1993 2002 2003
NSMS2 SWAF 1 SWAF 2 YAFS1 NDHS1

15-27 4.5 0.4 3.1 8.0 22.1

28-54 9.5 1.9 5.0 - 21.4
54+ 13.5 - - - -
All 9.0 1.5 4.6 8.0 21.6
Number of cases 7956 1000 1000 2505 2746
1 2
Notes : as reported by the husband as reported by the wife

Although the foregoing statistics are at best patchy, they nevertheless,

show that a considerable proportion of Filipino men engage in this type of
sexual behavior, thus meriting further exploration. The next step in
understanding and explaining this phenomenon is to identify the factors
associated with it. Knowing these factors is instrumental in dealing with
the consequences of such sexual activity. These consequences could be on
the health of the marital relationship or the health of the couple themselves.
Extramarital sex disrupts an ongoing marriage and not only affects the
couple themselves but their children and kin as well (Medina, 2001).
Moreover, Bautista and Roldan (1995) found in their in-depth interviews of
37 separated women that infidelity of the husband was the most common
54 P HILIPPINE POPULATION REVIEW VOLUME 10 NUMBER 2 DECEMBER 2011

cause of marital breakdown. Recently, however, the health consequences of

this sexual behavior have started to receive more attention. In countries
where the threat of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases is raging,
extramarital sex has been looked into as a possible avenue for transmission
(e.g. Kimuna & Djamba, 2005; Hill, Cleland & Ali, 2004). It was argued that
men who engage in sexual activity outside marriage become “key agents of
heterosexual transmission of HIV because they act as a bridge between the
outside world and their household environment” (Elwood, 1983; Frank,
1989 as cited in Kimuna & Djamba, 2005: 83).

INCIDENCE OF EXTRAMARITAL SEX IN THE PHILIPPINES

As noted earlier, according to the 2003 NDHS results, 21.6 percent of

Filipino men admitted to having had extramarital sex in the past 12 months.
Among those who had extramarital sex, 80 percent had sex with regular
partners only, five percent with occasional partners only, and three percent
with regular and occasional partners. The rest (11.5%) had sex with other
women who were neither regular nor occasional partners. Of the 5 surveys
compared in Table 1, the 2003 data yielded a substantively higher estimate
of the prevalence of extramarital sex.
Two major reasons can be cited for this difference. The first reason is the
source of information, that is who reported the extramarital sexual activity.
Previous findings on this topic have relied on the wives’ report of their
husband’s extramarital sex experience (e.g. Ahlburg, Jensen & Perez, 1997).
But the wife’s report is subject to errors of either underreporting or
overreporting. Since extramarital sex is not exactly acceptable behavior,
many wives may not be aware of their husband’s extramarital affairs. Other
wives may wrongly suspect their husband of having an extramarital affair
and report the suspicion as an actual incident when in fact no such affair
has happened. One of the few studies that used Filipino men’s report of
their own sexual activity is the SWAF survey. This survey also demonstrates
how the perception of the wife differs with the behavior of the husband.
About five percent of the wives’ reported that they are aware that their
husbands have a mistress, while only two percent of the husbands admitted
to actually having a mistress or other wife. It is likely, however, that husbands
do not admit to having a mistress thus their report is relatively lower
 DETERMINANTS OF MEN’S EXTRAMARITAL
SEXUAL EXPERIENCE IN THE PHILIPPINES 55

compared with that of the wives. This survey could have been the closest
data source from which the present statistics can be compared but another
problem is encountered which brings us to the second reason for the
differences in the estimates of extramarital sex- the definition of what exactly
is being measured.
In the SWAF survey, the question on extramarital sex for the husband
was: “Do you currently have more than one wife?” For the wife the question
was: “Do you know if your husband has a mistress or another woman?” It
should be noted that “extramarital sex” and “mistress” although used
interchangeably in the literature connote different meanings. To have a
mistress means that a person has a long running relationship with another
woman that presumably includes having sex but also connotes an emotional
involvement. Extramarital sex on the other hand covers a range of sexual
dalliances outside marriage from a “one-night stand” to keeping a mistress
or “no. 2” which involves a degree of permanence, exclusivity and economic
support (Santiago, 1981). The difference in definition of extramarital sex
between the SWAF and the NDHS could also partly account for the disparity
in estimates between the two surveys.

Never had EMS Have had

78.4% EMS , 21.6%

FIGURE 1
Percentage distribution of men in union (15-54)
by type of extramarital sexual partners (EMS): Philippines, 2003
56 P HILIPPINE POPULATION REVIEW VOLUME 10 NUMBER 2 DECEMBER 2011

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Since the groundbreaking study of Kinsey (1948) on human sexuality

that explored the extramarital sexual behavior of American men and women,
a host of factors have been examined as correlates of extramarital sexual
behavior. Most prominent among these factors is the role of marital
satisfaction on the extramarital activity of husbands and wives (e.g. Glass
& Wright, 1977). Other correlates of extramarital sex that were found in
previous studies are largely demographic and socioeconomic
characteristics. For example, Ahlburg, Jensen and Perez (1997) found in their
study that Filipino men who are older, who are farmers, who live at home,
and who have wives of higher education than the husband are less likely to
be perceived by their wives to be having extramarital sex. Meanwhile,
husbands who are more educated, have been in the current relationship
longer, and who had sex before marriage are more likely to be reported by
their wives as engaging in sex outside the marriage. These findings were
corroborated by Natividad and Marquez (2004) in their study on Filipino
male and female youth’s risky sexual behavior. They found that those who
are male, who are older, have a high level of education, who are working, and
are Catholic tend to engage in extramarital sex more than their counterparts.
The foregoing results also found resonance in similar studies in Tanzania
and Nigeria. Using survey data, Mbago and Sichona (2007) found current
age, education, age at first sexual intercourse and premarital sex of men to
be significantly associated with extramarital sex in Mbeya region—
considered to have the highest HIV prevalence rate in Tanzania. Sex before
marriage emerged to be the strongest correlate of extramarital sex among
the four variables. The odds ratio showed that those who did not have
premarital sex experience are four times less likely to engage in extramarital
sex than those who did. Meanwhile, another study in Nigeria showed that
men who are younger, those belonging to the Yoruba ethnic group, have
been tested for AIDS, have ever been drunk, and have engaged in sex at a
younger age have elevated odds of engaging in extramarital sex (Oyediran,
Isiugo-Abanihe, Feyisetan & Ishola, 2009).
Treas and Giesen (2000) observed that studies on extramarital sex failed
to integrate personal values, sexual opportunities, and quality of the marital
relationship into a single model. To remedy this “piecemeal” approach, they
 DETERMINANTS OF MEN’S EXTRAMARITAL
SEXUAL EXPERIENCE IN THE PHILIPPINES 57

grouped the major determinants of extramarital sex found in previous

studies into three (3), these are: tastes and values, opportunities, and primary
relationship, which were fitted in a multivariate model. Tastes and values
reflect the person’s thoughts on sex and attitudes toward extramarital sex
while “opportunities” refer to some characteristics or circumstances that
predispose the person to engage in extramarital sex. Primary relationship
refers to the relative difference of the couple in terms of age, religion and
education; marital satisfaction; whether the couple cohabited before
marriage; and the type of union (e.g. legally married or cohabiting). Also
added in their model are the “demographic risk factors” that include sex,
age, education, whether the respondent is African American or not and how
the interviewer perceives the frankness of the respondent. Their results
showed that those who have “stronger sexual interests, more permissive
sexual values, lower subjective satisfaction with their union, weaker network
ties to partners and greater sexual opportunities” have higher likelihood of
sexual infidelity (Treas & Giesen, 2000: 48-60). Moreover, even controlling
for permissiveness of personal values for extramarital sex, those who are
cohabiting are found to be more likely to engage in infidelity. This suggests
that the cohabitors’ low investment in the union rather than their less
conventional values on extramarital sex accounted for their elevated risk
to engage in infidelity. Furthermore, cohabitors who later got married were
no different in their demand for sexual exclusivity compared with those
who did not cohabit before marriage (Treas & Giesen, 2000).
Recently, studies relating extramarital sex to wealth (e.g. Kimuna &
Djamba, 2005), religion (e.g. Hill et al., 2004), alcohol use (e.g. Kongnyuy &
Wiysonge, 2007) and post natal abstinence (e.g. Ali & Cleland, 2001) have
been conducted in the African region and some Latin American countries
where the risk of HIV infection is high. Kimuna and Djamba’s (2005) results
did not support the hypothesis, using an evolutionary perspective, Kimuna
and Djamba proposed that wealthy men will embrace more permissive
sexual behaviors because resources attract women, and that wealthier men
can afford subsequent costs that would be associated with their sexual acts.
Instead they found that of the three proxy variables (education, occupation,
and household wealth index) used to represent wealth, none had a significant
relationship with extramarital sex in Zambia. Another study in Brazil
58 P HILIPPINE POPULATION REVIEW VOLUME 10 NUMBER 2 DECEMBER 2011

revealed that religious affiliation affects the likelihood of men to engage in

extramarital sex with the evangelicals showing a decreased likelihood of
extramarital sex compared with other religious groups (Hill et al., 2004).
Meanwhile, Kongnyuy and Wiysonge (2007) showed that alcohol use
increased the likelihood of a person engaging in extramarital sex in
Cameroon. Cleland and Ali (2004) found support for the relationship
between the practice of post natal abstinence and extramarital sex in Ivory
Coast which has already been established in Benin. They found that men
whose wives are observing postnatal abstinence are more likely to engage
in extramarital sex.
In addition to individual characteristics community-level variables are
also being used to explain extramarital behavior especially in the African
region. For example, Stephenson (2010) reported that men in some African
countries who live in communities characterized by greater gender equity
(i.e. more equal ratios of women to men with at least primary education
and employment) are less likely to report risky extramarital sexual activity.
A higher likelihood of engaging in extramarital sex was also observed among
men living in communities with more conservative attitudes towards wife-
beating or male decision (Stephenson, 2010). Meanwhile, another study in
Uganda showed a strong relationship between residence in a multi-linguistic
community and higher rates of extramarital sex among unmarried women
and for married men (Bishai, Patil, Pariyo & Hill, 2006).

HYPOTHESES

Taking these previous findings into account, this paper hypothesizes

that socio-demographic factors (current age, educational attainment, place
of residence and occupation), sexual experience (premarital experience, age
at first sex), marriage and fertility factors (type of union, age at first union,
number of living children and fertility intentions), attitudes towards
extramarital sex, and alcohol use impact on Filipino men’s extramarital
sexual behavior. Specifically, Filipino men in union who are older, with higher
educational attainment, who live in urban areas, are Catholics, and are
working in white-collar jobs are more predisposed to such behavior than
their counterparts. Moreover, those who have had sex at a young age and
have had premarital sex are hypothesized to have elevated odds of engaging
in extramarital sex. In addition, those in a consensual type of union, got
 DETERMINANTS OF MEN’S EXTRAMARITAL
SEXUAL EXPERIENCE IN THE PHILIPPINES 59

married early, have no living children, are infecund, have undergone

sterilization, or are undecided to have another child are more likely to engage
in extramarital sex. Those who agreed that a husband has right to have sex
with another woman if the wife refuses to have sex and those who feel that
the wife is not justified to refuse sex when she knows that her husband had
sex with another woman are expected to have higher likelihood of engaging
in extramarital sex. Finally, those who have gotten drunk at least one day in
the last three months are hypothesized to be more likely to engage in
extramarital sex than those who have not gotten drunk at least one day in
the last 3 months.

OBJECTIVES

This paper aims to describe the level of extramarital sex among Filipino
men and identify and examine the factors associated with this behavior.
This study differs from previous studies in many aspects. First it uses a
nationally representative sample of Filipino men with broader age range
than has been covered in previous studies. The data used in this study
includes Filipino men in union ages 15-54 while the YAFS covers men ages
15-27. By using a nationally representative survey, the problem of
generalizability encountered by earlier studies is overcome. Second, this
study uses self-reported sexual activity of Filipino men, thus, a more reliable
data is generated, remedying the weakness of previous research that relied
on the wives’ perception of their husband’s sexual behavior.

DATA AND MEASURES

Data Source
The study uses data from the Male Questionnaire of the 2003 Philippine
National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS). The NDHS is a
nationally representative survey of women age 15-49 periodically conducted
by the National Statistics Office (NSO). The 2003 NDHS is the first and the
only survey in the NDHS series that included men respondents, specifically
those aged 15-54. The survey employed a stratified multi-stage cluster
sampling design and collected information on Filipino men’s socio-
demographic and health concerns including fertility, contraceptive behavior,
sexual activity, participation in health care, attitudes toward women, HIV
60 P HILIPPINE POPULATION REVIEW VOLUME 10 NUMBER 2 DECEMBER 2011

and AIDS and other RH-related concerns. Men were interviewed in every
third household of the NDHS sample. In total, 4,766 Filipino men, 15 to 54
years old were interviewed. Since this study examines the extramarital sexual
behavior of Filipino men only men who have been in a union are included in
the analysis. This consists of 2,746 respondents.

Variables
The main variable of interest is currently having other sexual partners
aside from the reported partner or having had sex in the last 12 months
with women other than the wife or live-in partner. This is based on two
questions from the 2003 NDHS. The first question is: “Apart from the
woman/women you have already mentioned, do you currently have any other
regular, occasional, or regular and occasional sexual partners?” The second
question is asked among those who answered that the last person they had
sex with was their spouse or cohabiting partner: “Have you had sex with
any other woman in the last 12 months?” Those who admitted to having
regular, occasional or regular, and occasional sexual partner or those who
answered that they have had sex with other woman in the last 12 months
will be considered to have had extramarital sex.
In this paper the term “extramarital sex”, “extramarital affair”, and
“infidelity” are used interchangeably to mean having had sex outside
marriage. However, in its strictest sense, extramarital affair may mean more
than sex outside marriage since it assumes emotional involvement while
infidelity refers to the violation of a vow or promise which can also happen
among those who are not yet in union (Thompson, 1983).
The predictor variables selected for the analysis are socio-demographic
factors (current age, educational attainment, place of residence and
occupation), sexual experience (premarital experience, age at first sex),
marriage and fertility-related factors (type of union, age at first union,
number of living children and fertility intentions), attitudes towards
extramarital sex (whether the husband has right to have sex with another
women if the wife refuses to and whether the wife is justified to refuse sex
when she knows that her husband had sex with another women), and alcohol
use. The rationale for this selection is that previous studies in the Philippines
and other countries have revealed them to have significant influence on
extramarital sexual behavior.
 DETERMINANTS OF MEN’S EXTRAMARITAL
SEXUAL EXPERIENCE IN THE PHILIPPINES 61

METHOD OF ANALYSIS

Simple descriptive statistics are employed to present a profile of Filipino

men in union according to the selected explanatory variables. Chi-square
statistic is used to test whether the observed relationships between each of
these explanatory variables and extramarital sex experience are statistically
significant.
Binary logistic regression is employed to identify which of the
explanatory variables best predict the likelihood of engaging in extramarital
sex among Filipino men. All the variables that are hypothesized to impact
on the extramarital sexual behavior of Filipino men are simultaneously
entered in the multivariate regression model. This model will be the basis of
determining the net effects of the significant predictors on extramarital sex
experience.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Characteristics of sample respondents

Table 2 presents the distribution of the sample respondents according
to the selected explanatory variables. The mean age of the respondents is 37
years. There are more respondents who had secondary (43.8%) than those
who had primary (36.4%) and tertiary (19.7%) education. Slightly more
men reside in urban (53.1%) than in rural areas (46.9%). A great majority of
the respondents (82%) are Catholic outnumbering their Muslim brothers
(4.3%) and those belonging to other religious denominations (13.7%), as is
the case for the entire country.
The Philippines being an agricultural country, it is not unexpected to
find that almost a third (30.4%) of the respondents work as farmers or in
other agriculture -related occupation. This was followed by those working
as traders or plant and machine operators (28.5%). One in ten are
professionals while eight percent work as clerks or service workers. The
rest (17.5%) are working in other occupation or are not working at all
(4.0%).
62 P HILIPPINE POPULATION REVIEW VOLUME 10 NUMBER 2 DECEMBER 2011

Table 2 : Percentage distribution of men in union (15-54)

by selected characteristics: Philippines, 2003

CHARACTERISTICS PERCENT

SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC
Current age
< 24 8.4
25-29 14.6
30-34 17.5
35-39 18.3
40-44 16.0
45+ 25.2
Educational attainment
Primary 36.4
Secondary 43.8
Tertiary 19.7
Type of place of residence
Urban 53.1
Rural 46.9
Religion
Catholic 82.0
Islam 4.3
Others 13.7
Occupation
Professionals 11.3
Clerks and service workers 8.4
Farmers, foresters and fishermen 30.4
Trades, Plant and machine operators 28.5
Other Occupation 17.5
No occupation 4.0

SEXUAL EXPERIENCE
Premarital sex
Have had premarital experience 48.3
Never had premarital experience 51.7
Age at first sex
< 20 43.1
20-24 38.7
25-29 14.3
30+ 3.9
 DETERMINANTS OF MEN’S EXTRAMARITAL
SEXUAL EXPERIENCE IN THE PHILIPPINES 63

Table 2 : Percentage distribution of men in union (15-54)

by selected characteristics: Philippines, 2003 (continued)

CHARACTERISTICS PERCENT

MARRIAGE AND FERTILITY

Type of Union
Currently married 87.5
Consensual union 12.5

Age at first union

< 20 19.5
20-24 45.6
25-29 24.2
30+ 10.7

Number of living children

No living children 8.1
At least one living child 91.9

Fertility intentions
Wants another child 37.1
Wants no more child 51.2
Infecund, sterilized and undecided 11.6

ATTITUDES

Husband has right to have sex with another women

if the wife refuses to
No 89.6
Yes, depends, don’t know 10.4

Wife is justified in refusing sex when she knows

that her husband had sex with another woman
Justified, don’t know, depends 90.1
Not justified 9.9

ALCOHOL USE

Times gotten drunk in the last 3 months

Not or never gotten drunk 60.2
Got drunk at least once 39.8

Total 100.0

Number of cases 2746

64 P HILIPPINE POPULATION REVIEW VOLUME 10 NUMBER 2 DECEMBER 2011

Almost half (48.3%) have had sex before they entered a union and 43
percent experienced their sexual debut before age 20. About 88 percent are
legally married while 12 percent are in a consensual union. The mean age at
first union is 23 years. Their average number of living children is three and
only about eight percent have no living children. A little over half (51.2%) of
the respondents said that they do not desire more children while 37 percent
said that they desire more. The rest (11.6%) are either infecund, have
undergone sterilization or are undecided.
One in ten agree that the husband has the right to have sex with other
women if the wife refuses him. A similar percentage feels that the wife is not
justified to refuse sex when she knows that her husband had sex with other
women. About 40 percent of the respondents declared that they have gotten
drunk at least once in the last three months.
Table 3 presents the percent of men in union who said they had
extramarital sex within 12 months prior to the survey by the hypothesized
predictors of this behavior. A considerable variation in the incidence of
extramarital sex by socio-demographic characteristics is observed.
Christian, non-Catholic respondents reported a higher level of extramarital
sex (25%) than Catholics (22%) or Muslim (3.4%). It is understandable why
the incidence is low among Muslims since this type of sexual behavior is
considered taboo (Mitsunaga, Powell, Heard, & Larsen, 2004).
A significantly higher proportion of respondents who have had
premarital sex reported that they experienced extramarital sex in the past
year compared with those who never had premarital sex (23.4% vs. 19.8%).
Likewise, a clear pattern is observed between age at first sex and the
experience of extramarital sex. The incidence of extramarital sex is highest
among those who experienced their sexual debut during their teenage years
and is lowest among those who had their first sex during their 30’s. This
suggests that younger age at sexual initiation is associated with extramarital
sex experience in later years.
 DETERMINANTS OF MEN’S EXTRAMARITAL
SEXUAL EXPERIENCE IN THE PHILIPPINES 65

Table 3: Percentage distribution of men in union (15-54) having

extramarital sex (EMS) by selected characteristics: Philippines, 2003

CHARACTERISTICS PERCENT WHO Level of

HAD EMS significance

SOCIO-DEMOGRAHIC

Current age n.s.

< 24 23.0
25-29 21.5
30-34 22.7
35-39 19.1
40-44 22.7
45+ 21.4

Educational attainment n.s.

Primary 20.0
Secondary 21.8
Tertiary 24.2

Type of residence n.s.

Urban 22.3
Rural 20.8

Religion ***
Catholic 22.0
Islam (3.4)
Others 25.0

Occupation n.s.
Professionals 20.7
Clerks and service workers 24.9
Farmers, foresters and fishermen 22.5
Trades, Plant and machine operators 20.5
Other occupations 20.8
No occupation 23.1

SEXUAL EXPERIENCE

Premarital sex *
Have had premarital experience 23.4
Never had premarital experience 19.8
66 P HILIPPINE POPULATION REVIEW VOLUME 10 NUMBER 2 DECEMBER 2011

Table 3: Percentage distribution of men in union (15-54) having extramarital sex

(EMS) by selected characteristics: Philippines, 2003 (continued)

CHARACTERISTICS PERCENT WHO Level of

HAD EMS significance

Age at first sex *

< 20 23.7
20-24 21.1
25-29 17.4
30+ 16.7

MARRIAGE AND FERTILITY

Type of union **
Currently married 20.6
Consensual union 28.1

Age at first union n.s.

< 20 22.1
20-24 20.8
25-29 22.3
30+ 21.8

Number of living children *

No living children 27.6
At least one living child 21.0

Fertility intentions *
Wants another child 21.8
Wants no more child 20.0
Infecund, sterilized and undecided 27.6

ATTITUDES

Husband has right to have sex with another n.s.

women when the wife refuses to
Yes, Don’t know and Depends 25.7
No 21.1

Wife is justified in refusing sex n.s.

when the husband has sex with other woman
Justified, depends, don’t know 21.2
Not justified 24.9
ALCOHOL USE

Times gotten drunk in the last 3 months **

Not or never gotten drunk 19.3
Drunk at least a day 24.6

N of cases 2746

* p <0.05 ** p < 0.01 *** p <0.001n.s. – not significant

Figure in parenthesis is based on less than 10 cases.
 DETERMINANTS OF MEN’S EXTRAMARITAL
SEXUAL EXPERIENCE IN THE PHILIPPINES 67

More men in a consensual union than in legal marriage admitted to

having had sex outside the union (28.1% vs. 20.6%). Likewise, a higher
percentage of those who have no living children reported experience of
extramarital sex (27.6%) than those who have at least one living child (21%).
Men who are incapable of having more children or are undecided about
whether to have another child reported the highest incidence of extramarital
sex (27.6%) compared with those who desire (21.8%) or do not desire another
child (20.1%). Meanwhile, the experience of getting drunk in the last three
months preceding the survey showed a significant association with
extramarital sex experience; a higher percentage of those who have gotten
drunk in the last three months reported experiencing extramarital sex
(24.6%) than those who have not gotten drunk in the preceding three months
or have never gotten drunk at all (19.3%).
In sum, the bivariate analysis show that religion, premarital sex
experience, age at first sex, type of union, number of living children, fertility
intentions, and the experience of being drunk in the three months preceding
the survey are significantly associated with extramarital experience. However,
the bivariate results could be confounded by other factors, hence the need
to enter all the hypothesized predictors in a multivariate logistic regression
model to examine the role of each predictor when all are taken together.

FACTORS AFFECTING THE EXTRAMARITAL SEX EXPERIENCE OF

FILIPINO MEN: A MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS

The results of the multivariate logistic regression predicting the

likelihood of extramarital sex is shown in Table 4. As has been found in the
bivariate analysis; not all of the hypothesized predictors exert a significant
influence on the extramarital sexual behavior of men. Current age, place of
residence, occupation, age at first union and the two attitudinal factors
which were not significant in the bivariate analysis remain so in the
multivariate analysis. The experience of premarital sex and number of living
children are no longer significant predictors in the multivariate model.
Meanwhile, education which was not significant in the bivariate analysis
emerged as significant in the multivariate model. Specifically, those who
had primary education are 30 percent less likely to engage in extramarital
sex than those who had college education. Likewise, those who had secondary
education are 19 percent less likely to engage in extramarital sex than those
68 P HILIPPINE POPULATION REVIEW VOLUME 10 NUMBER 2 DECEMBER 2011

who had college education but the difference is not significant. Previous
studies have shown that a higher level of education is associated with
permissive attitudes towards infidelity (Blow & Harnett, 2005) and those
who have permissive attitudes towards infidelity are more likely to engage
in it. However, measures on attitudes used in the study toward extramarital
sex did not show significant effect on the experience of extramarital sex.
Meanwhile, religion also has a significant relationship with the experience
of extramarital sex. This, however, should be interpreted with caution because
of the low number of Muslims in the study who has engaged in extramarital
sex. The model shows that being Muslim reduces the likelihood of engaging
in extramarital sex by 87 percent. The strong taboo against this type of
sexual behavior among Muslims probably contributes to this finding. This
could also be the result of the Muslim culture that allows men to have more
than one wife unlike other religions. It has been shown in earlier studies
that monogamous men are more likely to engage in extramarital sex than
their polygynous counterparts but there are also some findings that showed
men with three wives to be more likely to engage in extramarital sex, followed
by monogamous men when compared with men with two wives (Mitsunaga
et al, 2005). However, since there were only less than one percent (24) of men
with more than one wife in the sample, the present study could not elaborate
further on the extramarital sexual behavior of men who are in a
monogamous relationship in contrast with those who are in a polygynous
type of marriage.
The effect of age at first sex on extramarital sex is also worth noting.
Every year increase in age at first sex reduces the likelihood of engaging in
extramarital sex by five percent. This relationship was already recognized
in previous research (e.g. White, Cleland & Carael, 2000) but Hill et al. (2004)
surmised that it could be the result of reporting bias with those men who
exaggerate their number of extramarital sexual partner being more likely
to report an earlier sexual debut. They also offered an alternative biological
and sociological explanation for this observed relationship. Biological, in
that there are some males who inherently have stronger sexual drives than
others or sociological, in that the set of sexual conduct which a person
acquired early in life through socialization with his family and other social
network may continuously persist in later sexual lifestyle.
 DETERMINANTS OF MEN’S EXTRAMARITAL
SEXUAL EXPERIENCE IN THE PHILIPPINES 69

Table 4: Summary statistics from logistic regression equations predicting the risk
of men in union (15-54) to engage in extramarital sex: Philippines, 2003

Extramarital sex
Predictors Exp(B)

Respondent’s age 1.00

Education
Primary 0.70 *
Secondary 0.81
Tertiary (reference)

Place of residence
Urban 1.08
Rural (reference)

Religion
Islam 0.13 ***
Other Christians 1.28
Catholics (reference)

Occupation
Farmers 1.38
Traders 1.01
Clerks 1.21
Other occupation 1.04
No occupation 1.12
Professionals (reference)

Premarital sex
Have had premarital sex 0.86
Never had premarital sex (reference)

Age at first sex 0.95 **

Type of union
Legally married 0.72 *
Consensual union (reference)

Age at first union 1.02

No. of living children

No living children (reference)
Have at least one living child 0.74

Experience of getting drunk in the past 3 months

Ever gotten drunk 1.30 **
Never or not gotten drunk (reference)
70 P HILIPPINE POPULATION REVIEW VOLUME 10 NUMBER 2 DECEMBER 2011

Table 4: Summary statistics from logistic regression equations predicting the risk of men
in union (15-54) to engage in extramarital sex: Philippines, 2003 (continued)

Extramarital sex
Predictors Exp(B)

Fertility intentions
Wants no more child 0.93
Infecund/sterilized/ undecided 1.39 *
Wants another child (reference)

Husband has right to have sex with other women

Yes 1.24
No (reference)

Wife has right to refuse sex

Yes 0.85
No (reference)

p <0.05 ** p < 0.01 *** p <0.0010

Cox & Snell R square 0.031

The type of union also emerges as significant predictor of extramarital sex

among Filipino men. Those who are legally married are 28 percent less likely
to have had sex outside marriage than those who are living-in or in consensual
union. The higher likelihood of cohabiting men to engage in extramarital sex
compared to the legally married may have an economic explanation.
According to Treas and Giesen, (2000) the investment made by legally married
couple are far greater than the one made by those in a consensual union. They
are more likely to have children, have acquired home jointly and have publicly
taken the vow of matrimony, thus they face a higher exit cost than the
cohabiting couple should the marital relationship be dissolved. This could
be the reason why cohabitors have more secondary sex partners than married
couples (Dolcini, et al., 1993, as cited in Treas & Giesen, 2000). This result
suggests that marriage deters an individual from engaging in infidelity as was
observed by Blow and Harnett (2005) in their review of literature. Moreover,
cohabiting couples may have less commitment to the relationship than the
legally married (Nock, 1995). This commitment mechanism in legal marriage
serves as a protective factor against infidelity for some couples. It was further
argued that the protective factor of marriage might be more closely related to
 DETERMINANTS OF MEN’S EXTRAMARITAL
SEXUAL EXPERIENCE IN THE PHILIPPINES 71

the commitment to the relationship rather than to the institution of marriage

per se. (Blow & Harnett, 2005).
Filipino men who are infecund, have undergone sterilization or are
undecided whether or not to have another child are 39 percent more likely
to engage in extramarital sex than those who want another child. Sevilla
(1982 as cited in Medina, 1991) maintains that the growing knowledge and
easy access of Filipino men to contraceptive methods have contributed to
the increasing prevalence of extramarital sex. The use of contraceptive
methods enable men to “sow their wild oats” without having to think of
siring another child or keeping another family. This perhaps, explains the
heightened likelihood of men who are infecund or have undergone
sterilization procedure to engage in extramarital sex compared with those
who want another child.
Corroborating previous study in Cameroon, alcohol use also emerged
as significant factor in the study. Those who have gotten drunk at least one
day in the last three months are 30 percent more likely to have had
extramarital sex than those who did not or never experienced getting drunk.
Kongnyuy and Wiysonge (2007) argue that an intoxicated person is more
likely to engage in unprotected sex even with high risk partners since alcohol
lowers his cognitive reserve.

SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This study shows that Filipino men who engaged in sex at a younger age,
were incapable of having another child, and had gotten drunk in the three
months preceding the survey are more likely to engage in extramarital sex.
Meanwhile, Muslim men, men with low level of education, and those who
are legally married are less likely to engage in extramarital sex than their
counterparts. These imply that male experience of extramarital sex in the
Philippines is not uniform across the population but is selective of men
with particular characteristics. Knowing these characteristics help us focus
the lens on this specific group to arrive at a more concrete and conclusive
explanation for this phenomenon. How these characteristics actually
operate to influence Filipino men’s behavior is not fully captured by the
present study, hence it deserves deeper exploration in future studies, perhaps
using qualitative methods. Moreover, previous studies locally and
72 P HILIPPINE POPULATION REVIEW VOLUME 10 NUMBER 2 DECEMBER 2011

internationally have looked at the possible role of this type of sexual

behavior on the spread of sexually transmitted disease especially HIV and
AIDS because men who engage in extramarital sex open the gateway for the
entry of sexually transmitted disease into their household. Future studies
can explore further on the relationship of extramarital sex and other sexual
behaviors on these sexually transmitted diseases.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The author gratefully acknowledges the constructive comments of Dr.

Maria Midea M. Kabamalan and Prof. Maria Paz N. Marquez, who served as
his adviser and reader, respectively, in writing this paper as a requirement
for his Master in Population Studies degree at the University of the
Philippines Population Institute (UPPI).

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

JEOFREY B. ABALOS is a Senior Labor and Employment Officer at the Bureau of Labor and
Employment Statistics (BLES) of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
Email: abalosjb@gmail.com

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