In short, research seems to indicate that in many cultures, an age gap of 1 to 3 years is considered ideal — but some researchers suggest even a relationship with an age gap of less than 10 years will bring more satisfaction.
"Half-your-age-plus-seven" rule
An often-asserted rule of thumb to determine whether an age difference is socially acceptable holds that a person should never date someone whose age is less than half their own plus seven years.
Age is not really the issue, and biologically, young women are about two years ahead of most young men in physical (and sometimes emotional) maturity. So the age gap is not as great as it would be for a 16 year old young woman with a 13 year old young man.
Romantic couples with a large age gap often raise eyebrows. Studies have found partners with more than a 10-year gap in age experience social disapproval. But when it comes to our own relationships, both men and women prefer someone their own age, but are open to someone 10-15 years their junior or senior.
A 16-year-old dating an 18-year-old is not a big age difference. It's only 2 years apart in age and a 16-year-old isn't a child equivalent to a 5-year-old, and an 18-year-old isn't an adult equivalent to a middle-aged man. They're both developmentally adolescents in high school.
A 20-year-old should not be in a relationship with a 17-year-old. While a three-year gap isn't, in itself, absolutely good or bad, even small age differences can be significant for younger people. They may be at different stages of emotional maturity.
An age gap of 10 years or more is considered a big difference. When one person has a decade more life experience than their partner, the couple might be incompatible. You're likely to have different circles of friends, different interests, and different life goals.
Age Gaps in Relationships: Find Common Ground
The truth is, there is no ideal or appropriate age gap in a relationship. Whether it's a 20 year age gap relationship or a 5 year age gap relationship, there will be both challenges and benefits to your situation.
There's nothing wrong with it, if both parties want to date. Whether two unattached, consenting adults date one another is no one else's business but theirs.
A relationship age gap bigger than 10 years often comes with its own set of issues. “While there are always exceptions to rules, a good rule to remember is that dating someone more than 10 years older will present challenges now or later that add to the preexisting challenges any relationship has,” he says.
It is a very serious offence to engage in sexual activity with anyone under 16 years of age, even if you are in a relationship and they agree, as the law says that they cannot consent. It is still illegal if you are both under 16 years of age.
But a 16-year-old and a 14-year-old cannot be sexually involved, as this would be illegal and amount to legal rape. Parental authorization is void in such a case. A: It is legal for anyone to “date” someone else.
No, it's not illegal for an 18-year-old to date a 15-year-old. States do not impose laws on the ages that you can date. But, they impose laws on the age of consent and sexual conduct between 15 and 18 year olds. The 18-year-old will not get in trouble for dating the 15-year-old.
So, it is perfectly fine. Some people might give strange looks if they know the age difference, but what they think doesn't matter. People are quick to judge large age differences, but keep in mind there are many older couples with 12 year gaps and people just see them as an old couple.
Many people assume that age-gap couples fare poorly when it comes to relationship outcomes. But some studies find the relationship satisfaction reported by age-gap couples is higher. These couples also seem to report greater trust and commitment and lower jealousy than similar-age couples.
Power imbalances are common in age gap relationships
Daria J. Kuss, Associate Professor in Psychology, explained to Cosmopolitan. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Dr. Kuss added that older partners are more likely to wield the power, while younger partners are more likely to take on a dependent role.
It lets you chart acceptable age discrepancies that adjust over the years. According to the rule, for example, a 30-year-old should be with a partner who is at least 22, while a 50-year-old's dating partner must be at least 32 to not attract (presumed) social sanction.
Some aspects of dating in your 30s make the process harder—such as a shrinking candidate pool. You can no longer meet potential partners at school and probably aren't attending parties and social gatherings as often. These are hot spots for fresh encounters.
Dating Age Rule. The dating age rule to determining a socially acceptable age difference in partners goes something like this: half your age plus seven (40 = 20 +7 = 27) to define the minimum age of a partner and your age minus seven times two (40 = 33 * 2 = 60) to define the maximum age of a partner.
It's never too late to take a gap year and make an impact.
There is no hard and fast rule on what kind of an age gap is or isn't acceptable in any relationship. While couples typically tend to have an age gap of around one to three years in many cultures, each individual will have a different comfort level that they feel is right for them. As psychiatrist Dr.
In Western countries, of male-female couples have an age-gap of 10 years or more, rising to 25% in male-male unions and 15% of female-female relationships. For some the gap is even larger – data suggests that around 1% of heterosexual couples in the US have an age difference of 28 years or more.
Not at all. The age difference is minimal so that's not an issue. But you might want to take a look at this. The only thing to remember is that IF the age of consent is 18 you have to check if there's a close in age exemption in the law if sex is on the agenda.
Originally Answered: Is it appropriate for a 23 year old to date an 18 year old? You are both adults. As long as each of you respects the other person there is no reason you cannot become involved in a dating relationship. The age difference that might make you a little uncomfortable now will lessen over time.
No, it's not weird for an 18 year old to date a 21 year old. In fact, it's quite normal. Most college students are around the ages of 18-22, so it's not uncommon to see a 21 year old and a 18 year old in a relationship. Plus, the age gap between the two is very small.