It says that if the man is at least 5 years older than the woman, the marriage is more likely to succeed.
The research, which was published in the European Journal of Operational Research, initially interviewed 1,500 couples (either married or in serious relationships) and then after 5 years, interviewed 1,000 of the couples again.
According to the report, the divorce rate was up to three times higher for marriages in which the woman was 5 years older than the man.
On the other hand, in cases where men were 5 years older than women, the marriages showed lower divorce rates.
Interestingly, the result also showed that marriage was more successful if the woman had a higher level of literacy than the husband.
The research singled out Beyounce and Jay-z, both pop-music artists, as the ideal couple.
Beyonce (28) is 11 years younger than Jay-z. She also has a higher level of literacy than her husband. The research added that when one of the married couple had divorced before, the probability of divorce increased in the new marriage, but if both the husband and wife had never divorced, the chances of a stable married life increased.
The research noted that while men and women tend to choose their partners based on similarities in hobbies, beliefs and levels of physical attractiveness, it advised that people would have greater success in marriage if they chose their partners based on objective factors such as the level of education and cultural background.
There are a couple of issues here. I'm not too surprised by the findings, but you didn't report on a rationale. Was there any? In other words, why to the researchers think this happens?
ReplyDeleteIf I had to guess, one reason is that younger brides depend more on their husbands financially than older brides.
The other issue is more of a cultural question for you. Do you think that the suggestions given at the end of the article are correct. People should focus more on "objective" factors such as level of education and cultural background? Do you think this is a reason for the rising divorce rate in Korea, namely that couples are relying less on these factors than they did in the past?
Dan
I agree with you to the first opinion.
ReplyDeleteThe younger brides tend to depend more on their husbands. There are some reasons especially, financially.
In addition, the younger brides rely on their husbands metally, because they can make their brides relax more than the younger husbands.
For these reasons, I think such a result showed.
To the second issue, reading this article,
I thought the last suggestion is a litte rational.
People seem to feel a sense of stability more, when they go with the similar partners.
The differences can make people arouse a curiosity but if people don't overcome the differences, they will be likely to disappoint and break up.
Therefore, most people tend to look for their partners who have in many commons with themselves.