Carlos Solis
Here’s another reason to age gracefully. A recent study from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow found that people who plan to have children are more likely to choose partners who look older and more mature in appearance.
The findings challenge the stereotype that people planning for parenthood prefer younger partners.
“Our research calls into question a common assumption in evolutionary psychology. We found that both men and women who expressed a strong desire to have children did not show a preference for younger individuals,” the team reported.
The attraction to older people wasn’t tied to wealth. The authors suggest this may be because older partners seem more psychologically stable or better prepared for parenthood.
How Did the Researchers Reach This Conclusion?
The study included 149 men and 151 women, with average ages of 30 and 31, respectively.
Participants, who were childless Britons, were asked to evaluate 50 portrait photographs of individuals of the opposite sex.
The people in the photographs ranged in age from 19 to 55. They were also asked to fill out a questionnaire about their plans for having children.
Overall, people rated younger faces in the images as more attractive than older ones. However, participants who reported a strong desire to have children found older individuals more appealing. This applied to both men and women.
“The desire to have children correlates with a preference for maturity and readiness for parenthood,” explained lead researcher Zinheng Li in an interview with the Daily Mail.
The authors say further research is needed to understand the reasons behind this pattern. The results of the study were published in the journal PLOS One.
