More and more people are dispensing with marriage as an option and choosing to establish stable relationships in fact. But for those who decide to say yes, what is the best age to do so?
If you are planning a wedding with your partner or you plan to get married in the future, you may be interested in knowing what is the best age to get married and that the marriage is successful. You will be surprised what the latest research has revealed.
Which is the best age to marry?
The current lifestyle is making us delay what in other times was done at an earlier age: becoming independent, having children … As for marriage, people are no longer interested in carrying it out, and those who are, decide to do it late. But this trend could be beneficial if we consider the best age to marry according to science.
A study carried out at the University of Utah in 2015 found that people who had said yes to each other between the ages of 25 and 32 were more likely to have a successful marriage.
The research, led by the Institute for Family Studies (IFS), also reveals that marriages started at an earlier age have a higher risk of ending in divorce, especially if they occur in adolescence.
Curiously, the best age to marry would not be after 32 either. In marriages initiated after that age, the risk of separation increases once again and reaches points similar to those of marriage produced during adolescence. From age 33 to 45, the odds of divorce increase by 5% each year since marriage.
What is the explanation?
Although the data may be surprising, it stands to reason that late marriages are more likely to be successful. One of the reasons is the degree of maturity that is already present in that age group, which is high enough to know what such a level of commitment implies, which predisposes to a greater probability of success.
Another compelling reason is that the best age to marry is when a certain level of stability has been reached, and this is more likely to occur in that age group when the most important decisions have already been made. It also happens that a couple who decide to join at that age has already had the possibility of maintaining enough relationships to know what they are looking for in the other, with which the couple will be more likely to fit in, and therefore, to have a successful marriage.
In the same way, they are young enough to have some flexibility and adjust to the lifestyle that they may have by sharing life with another person. They will also be more likely to not have children to spend time with than they can spend with their partner instead.
As for the couples who decide to join after 33, the study suggests as an explanation that the type of people who wait until that age are the same ones who do not have a predisposition for the marriage to go well, so it ceases to be the best age to marry.
It is also to be expected that adolescent marriages are at higher risk of ending in divorce. On the one hand, there is a certain social stigma and problems derived from the parents’ disapproval of marriage at such an early age. On the other hand, the personality changes they may be experiencing increase the chances that the couple will discover new disagreements and end up breaking the relationship.
It is not the only study that supports it
In another study published this year, a team of researchers from the University of Alberta came to similar conclusions about the best age to get married. They examined a total of 403 participants over 25 years, through various surveys with various indicators of well-being, and classified according to whether they were married early, on time, or late.
The results showed that participants who were married on time or late, compared to their peers, were less likely to have symptoms of depression in middle age. Marriage late also predicted a college degree, higher earnings, and higher self-esteem in middle age.
The researchers concluded that people who marry earlier face greater challenges due to the responsibilities of starting a family at such a young age. It also makes it difficult to dedicate time to studies and to develop a career. They comment that getting married early can be due to unexpected pregnancies or pressure from the family, leading to increased emotional stress.
But if you have gotten married outside of the ideal band to do it or you have not done it yet, do not worry. There are many factors that influence the happiness of a marriage and after all, this is still statistical. And if something else is true, that is that the right person can show up when you least expect it.