Radica
Although research has offered numerous explanations for the great age differences between romantic partners in recent years, it is difficult to accurately answer the question of whether large age differences between partners are an advantage or disadvantage.
When it comes to close relationships, both men and women prefer someone who is at least about their age , but they are also open to those who are older or younger than them. Social disapproval of age differences between partners is still present, but it also depends on cultural differences.
In some non-western countries, the average age gap between partners is much larger than in western countries. But what do years actually mean in romantic relationships and does the relationship’s success depend on them? Find out below!
What do age differences research say?
Social science researchers have been exploring the importance of age differences between partners for years. Although there are no unambiguous results, some do point to certain conclusions. Specifically, a widespread study from Emory University surveyed about 3,000 newly married and divorced people and found that the age difference between partners was related to divorce.
In other words, couples whose age difference was less than five years were less prone to divorce than couples whose age difference was between 10 and 20 years of age. However, this is only one study. There are other studies, and one such is the 2008 English survey, which shows that there is no significant correlation between age difference and divorce. Marriage is not only dependent on age, but on a number of other factors that play an important role in the successful relationship between the two people, and you can read more about it here .
One interesting 2017 study from the University of Colorado shows that both men and women who choose to marry are happier at first , but soon experience a sudden drop in satisfaction. Compared to them, those who choose spouses of similar ages are more stable in terms of happiness and fulfillment , but also more resilient when it comes to life’s challenges. Researchers find it harder to cope with the sudden drop in pleasure, even though it was initially very high than in the stable and normal levels throughout the relationship.
Age differences between partners – advantages and disadvantages
Despite all the findings of numerous studies, there are various advantages and disadvantages of age differences between partners. The fact is that you can always be attracted to someone older or younger than you who wants completely different things in life that you cannot agree with. In that case, the relationship is unlikely to survive, but not because of years but because of different life goals.
But age is not always an indicator of what a person wants . You might expect a 25-year-old to want to party and travel, and he actually wants to be a father and raise children, while one 45-year-old thinks he’s not ready for it and can’t be imagined as a father. In other words, age sometimes does not really play a significant role in how much an individual’s attitudes, desires, values, and thinking play . It also means that you shouldn’t let someone you agree with if they are older or younger than you “expect”.
Sometimes it’s really interesting to watch someone who has experienced some things that you haven’t yet seen in the world. Getting to know the older and younger of us more closely exposes them to their stories, experiences, insights, and the challenges they face. All this can lead to better agreement and greater intimacy, or to more discussions and differences of opinion, ie any advantage can become a disadvantage, but also vice versa.
This will ultimately decide your and your partner’s personality traits, not age. Namely, if you have an emotionally stable and mature personality besides you , and at the same time you are yourself, you can be sure that you will somehow solve all the problems. However, if you have a person who is prone to impulsiveness and shows neurotic personality traits without the desire to work on yourself, it will not help that you are 25 or 45 years old, because you will probably get a few minor problems from each problem due to the inability to find a common language .
Age is just a number. However a younger person is more likely tofollow the older one ,which might reduce conflicts. Then children should be easier to control. But humans defy all studies and each is a species by itself.