Personal characteristics can influence relationship chances

A recent study from America has apparently found a link between certain personal characteristics and the likelihood of entering into either marriage or a cohabiting relationship.

Researchers at the University of Miami found that both men and women who scored highly for characteristics such as attractiveness, personality and grooming had a greater chance of getting married, but the same characteristics didn’t appear to have an overall influence on the chances of cohabiting with a partner.

According to the researchers, their findings are indicative of the idea that people look for a range of different characteristics when looking for a long-term partner. This means that what a prospective partner lacks in one area could be compensated for by strength in another area.

The study looked at three possible outcomes:

• marriage with or without prior cohabitation,
• cohabitation without subsequently getting married,
• and neither marriage nor cohabitation.

The result shows that a greater proportion of married people or people who cohabited then married were rated above average for physical attractiveness than those who cohabited without marriage or those who neither married not cohabited. The results for personality and grooming were similar.

The study also found that 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),” a finding that researchers described as “curious”.

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