Women who are less attractive are more likely to have an extra-marital affair, while men are more likely to be unfaithful when their partners were less attractive, finds a study that aims to identify factors that lead to infidelity -- one of the surest ways to cause a breakup -- as well as prevent it.

The tendency to devalue or downgrade, the attractiveness of potential romantic partners lowered the risk of infidelity and raised the likelihood of maintaining the relationship.