Tall or short may affect more than just a man's suit size -- according to a new study it may also impact the success of his marriage.
Sociologists from NYU combed through data using the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) -- which has collected information on the same 4,500 families since 1968.
For the study, researchers analyzed data from 1986 -- the first year height was recorded -- through 2011 to determine if a man's height affected relationship dynamics. Men were classified as short (less than 66” in 1986; less than 67” in 2009), average, or tall (more than 73” in 1986; more than 74” in 2009).
Researchers also measured income, education and the height difference between spouses once the men were actually married. For example, in 1986, 92.7 percent of men were taller than their spouses; in 2009, 92.2 percent were taller.
From the data, researchers found major differences in relationship patterns between short and tall men.
Love lives of short men:
Short men were found to marry later in life than average or tall men, but were 32 percent less likely to divorce. They were also more likely to marry less educated and younger women. Once married, they did less of the housework and earned a much higher income than their spouse.
Why? The researchers hypothesize that because height is related to masculinity, short men may use other aspects of the relationship -- income, housework -- to demonstrate their manliness. "Short men may exchange their breadwinner status for less housework ... because a lower share of housework or a higher share of relative earnings allow short men to enact traditional gender ideals, thereby performing their masculinity in the absence of symbolic anthropomorphic differences," the researchers write in the paper.
Love lives of tall men:
Tall men were found to marry sooner in life, but were more at risk for divorce later on, as shorter men had more stable marriages. However, researchers note that the link between short men and stable marriages could be because they chose to marry later (or didn't have the option until later).
Tall men were also more likely to marry women closer to their age, and who were better-educated.
Why? "From the perspective of relationship exchange models, this indicates that the tallest men exchange their attractive attribute (height) for better-educated spouses, while short men are unable to do so," the researchers write.
It should be noted that this data suggests a trend which occurred from 1986 to 2011, and of course does not apply to all couples. However, it does shed light on an interesting topic.
As the researchers explain in the paper, "Marriage and divorce have implications for socioeconomic stratification and asset accumulation, our observed effects suggest that men’s height may indirectly affect their economic status and socioeconomic mobility through these demographic processes."
What do you think of the findings? Sound off below!
9 comments:
Tall men divorce more often because tall men attract more women and therefore have more opportunities to cheat on their wives. Short men don't have as many cheating opportunities and stay "loyal" because of that lack of opportunity. Most of my friends are tall. They all cheat on their wives. I am short. I never cheated on my wife.
And you are saying this is because you don't have the opportunity to do so? Or is it because you love your wife and have a different set of morals than your friends?
So women are selective because they can be. Also I heard that beautiful and thin women have much more options than fat or unattractive women. The world is not the least bit fair but we keep making studies to tell us the obvious
I am a short man 5'5 and I agree with the study, ask any short man if if he tells the truth he will also agree, We are discriminated against just because we are short throughout our lives.
There's a much more substantial piece of height-related stats that people ought to be aware of: other things being equal, every extra inch of height means a year less to live. BTW, this height-to-longevity correlation nicely explains the gender gap in life expectancy.
I agree 100%! My dad is short and he has been one of the most hardest working man I've ever met. I married and quickly divorced a tall man, he was worth 0.
What a study, do these people have anything else to do than do studies like this. I wonder how many of them are short or tall. I have a 5 foot 7 good looking muscular husband who I have been married to for 42 years and would not trade him for anything!
and he cooks and does housework
It is interesting to me that people find shortness in a man (or woman) as a negative. Being shorter doesn't effect the brain and its not like we are cavemen who need to be big and tall to survive in our urban world.
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