% pubman genre = article
@article{item_3456648,
title = {{Spousal age-gaps, partner preferences, and consequences for well-being in four Colombian communities}},
author = {Minocher, Riana and Ross, Cody T.},
language = {eng},
isbn = {1090-5138},
doi = {10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2022.06.004},
publisher = {Elsevier},
address = {Amsterdam},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-09},
abstract = {{Across cultures, women tend to marry older men. This phenomenon is commonly described as the result of evolved mate choice preferences, which cause men to base reproductive decisions on cues of youth and fertility in women, and women to base such decisions on cues of wealth and status in men. Other researchers have challenged this idea, arguing that husband-older spousal age-gaps might not be consistent with the joint preferences of men and women; age-gaps might instead arise as the result of sexual conflict. In such cases, the realized age-gap could benefit one party at a cost to the other. In practice, large age-gaps may result in negative outcomes for younger women married to older men{\textemdash}e.g., because of power differences in these relationships. Testing for the existence of sexual conflict over the size of the spousal age-gap in Tanzania, researchers found no evidence that large age-gaps are harmful to women. Here, we conceptually replicate this previous work, and assess the relationship between spousal age-gaps, partner preferences, and individual well-being in four communities in Colombia. We extend prior methods by inferring the size of idealized age-gaps using network structured mate-choice games, and measuring the realized age-gap directly among ever-married partners. Our analyses suggest that there is limited evidence of sexual conflict over the size of the spousal age-gap in these communities. First, realized age-gaps are not large on average{\textemdash}around 1{\textendash}7 years across communities. Second, the age-gaps that do exist are consistent with the preferences of both men and women{\textemdash}at least during their early to middle reproductive periods. And, lastly, large age-gaps are not negatively associated with measures of fertility or well-being for either sex. Our results underscore the importance of appreciating the cultural context within which behavioral practices with potentially negative consequences are situated.}},
journal = {{Evolution and Human Behavior}},
volume = {43},
number = {5},
pages = {394--407},
}