Psychologists Examine Traits in Men, Women who are more likely to Marry

Psychologists have identified a few characteristics or personal traits that may be able to determine whether an individual is the 'marrying type.'

According to lead study author Michael T. French, a professor of Health Ecnonomics in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Miami (UM), via a press release: "The findings highlight that Aristotle's famous quote 'The whole is more than the sum of its parts' is pertinent when it comes to personal characteristics and marital arrangements."

The latest study looked at three possible outcomes: marriage with or without prior cohabitation, cohabitation without subsequently getting married and neither marriage nor cohabitation.

Research involved 9,835 respondents that participated in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, along with the analysis period lasting around eight years. All of the participants were between 24 and 34 years old.

Findings revealed that 52 percent of married participants and 51.7 percent of cohabiting participants who ended up getting married were rated as above average in physical attractiveness. However, results also showed that 45.9 percent of participants in cohabiting relationships without subsequent marriage and 43.6 percent in neither a marriage nor cohabitation scored above average when it came to attractiveness, as well. Women who were better groomed were also less likely to cohabit without subsequent marriage. However, this only relatively applied to men.

Yet the study also showed that a good marriage predictor for men might be if their personalities were above average.

"Thus, we have the somewhat curious finding that men with above average looks tend to be more likely to cohabit, while men with above average personalities tend to be more likely to marry (but less likely to cohabit)," researchers wrote.'

What do you think?

More information regarding the study can be found via the journal Social Science Research.