What truly drives someone to cheat? People cheat for a variety of reasons, and a new study published in The Journal of Sex Research identifies the most common reasons for infidelity. Researchers surveyed 495 persons, with an average age of 20, to see if they had ever cheated in a relationship and, if so, what their motivation was. Because the poll was rather open-ended, researchers grouped the replies by shared characteristics and discovered 77 reasons for adultery.

Among the reasons cited, the most common reason for cheating is a “lack of love.” 77 percent of the respondents either openly said it (e.g., “I had ‘fallen out of love with’ my primary partner”) or hinted to it in some way. “While the guttural reaction to being cheated on is often that the person cheating has fallen out of love, the more accurate reasoning is that the person cheating no longer feels loved by his or her partner,” says Chelsea Leigh Trescott, relationship expert and founder of Breakupward, to Bustle.

Shula Melamed MA MPH, a Relationship and Wellness Coach, thinks that “a lack of love” may also refer to a lack of appreciation, attention, and fun in the relationship. Of course, a healthy strategy to coping with these concerns would be to focus more on the relationship and communication with their partner rather than infidelity. “Love is a verb, an action, and a skill,” she goes on to remark. “It is a dynamic process of doing rather than something you simply enter. Love should be nourished, replenished, and not taken for granted.

So, while a loss of love in a relationship is the most powerful incentive to cheat, what about others? According to the report, there are seven more major factors. 1. They desired a variety of sexual partners.”I wanted a greater variety of sexual partners” was the second most common reason for cheating. Racine R. Henry, Ph.D., a registered marriage and family therapist, tells Bustle that cheating is rarely about one partner’s feelings for the other. Typically, the culprit feels unloved, bored, and/or invincible.

According to Dr. Caroline Madden, a marital and family therapist, feeling unloved and unappreciated can lead to adultery. So, if you’ve been cheated on, don’t blame it on a lack of affection in the bedroom. When one spouse feels rejected, upset, or unappreciated but does not want to end the relationship, cheating may seem like the greatest option to gain the attention they seek. According to the report, 70% admitted to cheating because they felt neglected.

3. A Situational Reason. 70 percent of participants used the explanation “I was drunk and not thinking clearly” or something similar. If you’ve been told that your spouse was inebriated and didn’t realize what was going on, you can be looking for any “true” intentions behind it. You may believe they don’t really love you or don’t want to be with you because they can easily cheat when they’re intoxicated, but this isn’t always the case.

“In general, cheating does not always imply love for one’s partner,” family and relationship psychologist and author Dr. Fran Walfish tells Bustle. “If the person cheated only one time, and demonstrates genuine remorse, regret, empathy, and apologizes, the breach of trust can be repaired with two willing partners.”