Thread by @datepsych

"Age-gaps that do exist are consistent with the preferences of both men and women—at least during their early to middle reproductive periods."

"Large age-gaps are not negatively associated with measures of fertility or well-being for either sex."

sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

This is a replication of Lawson et al. who found the same result in a Tanzanian sample: higher satisfaction was associated with larger gaps, no greater risk of divorce nor lower fertility.

sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

This is the difference between the actual age of a spouse and the ideal age gap for men and women.

Interestingly, across these four regions a lot of women preferred younger men.

However, the desired age gap is much closer to the actual spousal age gap for women.

Here is the risk of divorce in the second paper. No difference for small and large gaps:

And here are mental health and fertility measures from that paper. No difference for any age gap range when the man is older: