Having a large age difference in the couple brings greater satisfaction for both in the short term, but this happiness fades over time. This is the conclusion of the study developed by scientists at the University of Colorado in Boulder (USA) and collected in the Journal of Population Economics.
The researchers analyzed 13 years of longitudinal data from thousands of Australian households, identifying a pattern between unhappiness and marriages with noticeable age differences. The results also suggest that these couples (in which one partner is significantly younger than the other), are less resistant to economic downturns than their similarly aged counterparts.
Perhaps this conclusion is not surprising either, as the study confirmed that men were the ones who felt the greatest marital satisfaction when dating a younger woman, especially in the first years of living together . The same also happens the opposite (older woman and young man).
“We found that men who are married to younger wives are the most satisfied and men who are married to older wives are the least satisfied. Women are also particularly dissatisfied when they are married to older husbands and particularly satisfied if they are married to husbands. younger “, clarifies Terra McKinnish, co-author of the work.
However, this initial happiness does not last long. It erodes rapidly after 6-10 years of marriage in relation to couples with a large age difference between them.
“Over time, people who are married to a much older or younger spouse tend to have a greater decline in happiness over time, compared to those who are married to spouses of a similar age,” McKinnish said.
An explanation for this decrease in happiness could be that the age difference between the spouses affects the couple’s ability to respond to negative economic ups and downs, such as a job loss, for example .
“We looked at how couples respond to negative shocks and, in particular, if they have a big economic problem or a worsening of their domestic finances. We found that when couples have a large age difference, they tend to have a much greater decrease in the marital satisfaction when faced with a financial setback, compared to couples who have a very small age difference, “says McKinnish.
According to the authors, a possible explanation for this could be that couples of similar age are more in sync with life decisions that affect both of them (having children, overall spending habits) and are therefore better equipped to do so. adapt to a sudden financial problem . Conversely, an unexpected financial shock could expose underlying stresses and mismatches in couples with a larger age gap.
The findings are based on data from the Household, Income and Work Dynamics Survey in Australia (HILDA), a longitudinal study that began in 2001. The nationally representative sample initially consisted of 7,682 households with 19,914 individuals and participants were re – surveyed each year with questions that measure various aspects of life satisfaction.
Referencia: The marital satisfaction of differently aged couples. Wang-Sheng Lee y Terra McKinnish. Journal of Population Economics 2017 doi.org/10.1007/s00148-017-0658-8
