Social and Biological Considerations
In a Brown University study, it has been noted that the social structure of a country determines the age difference between spouses more than any other factor. One of the concerns of relationships with age disparities in some cultures is a perceived difference between people of different age ranges. These differences may be sexual, financial or social in nature. Gender roles may complicate this even further. Socially, a society with a difference in wealth distribution between older and younger people that may affect the dynamics of the relationship. Sexually, it is noted that older people tend to have lower sex drives. Legally, there is the issue of consent, where minors (see "Age of consent") are considered unable to consent to a relationship.
On average humans reach the age of reproduction starting at ages 11–14 for girls and 12-16 for boys. For women the average age of menopause is in their late forties and early fifties, and before that infertility is known to increase with age. While men do not necessarily become sterile with age, infertility does go up with age.
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