Age may really be more than just a number.
A large age gap may be a big contributing factor to divorce rates, according to a new study on 3,000 people in Atlanta, the New York Post reported on Tuesday.
Randal Olsen, a computer science graduate research assistant at Michigan State University, found that how close a couple is in age can predict if they get divorced or not.
Statistically, a five-year age gap means you're 18 percent more likely to split, against just 3 percent with a single-year age difference. At a 10-year difference, that number rises to 39 percent. It soars to 90 percent for a 20-year difference in age.
Reasons for the conclusion are opposite tastes in music and movies, different needs and desires from sex and vastly different pop cultural values and references.
"Sex drive goes up for women in middle age, but sexual function decreases for men," said Fran Walfish, a Beverly Hills psychotherapist.
Having your first baby before marriage can mean you're 59 percent less likely to end in divorce, as opposed to a childless couple. Though having a child while you're married shows a 76 percent decrease in divorce rate.
In regards to education, a couple is 43 percent more likely to divorce if they have different levels of education than a couple who has the same qualifications.
And there's some good news: couples are 94 percent less likely to divorce if they make it to their 10th anniversary, Market Watch reported.
Critics of the study warn not to equate a long marriage with a happy one. Marriages that appear happy on the outside may still be going on due to religious, financial, child-rearing or other reasons.
"So while having children with your spouse may be a factor that decreases the chances of divorce, it may be that a couple with kids chooses to stay together for the sake of the kids, despite the marriage having nothing else to it," said Simon Rego, director of psychology training at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City.
