Young woman, older man. That’s the typical age ratio of most U.S. couples. But how much older, how much younger? And how might age differences affect reproductive behavior? Those are questions researchers from The Alan Guttmacher Institute in New York investigated in a recent study. Women younger than 18 are more likely than older women to have sexual partners close to their own age, the study showed. Among sexually active 15-to-17-year-old females, 64 percent have partners who are within two years of their age compared with 49 percent of women aged 30-34. Among other findings:
– Seven in 10 unmarried minors whose partner is much older become pregnant, compared with 23 percent of those whose partner is three to five years older and 17 percent of those whose partner is no more than two years older.
– Among minors who become pregnant, those with a partner six or more years older are more likely to have an intended pregnancy or birth resulting from an unintended pregnancy than those whose partner is no more than two years older.
