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Correlation between father's age and husband's age: a case of imprinting?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 July 2008

G. Zei ,
P. Astolfi  and
S. D. Jayakar
G. Zei
Affiliation:
Institute of Biochemical and Evolutionary Genetics, National Council of Research, Pavia
P. Astolfi
Affiliation:
Institute of Genetics, University of Pavia, Italy
S. D. Jayakar
Affiliation:
Institute of Biochemical and Evolutionary Genetics, National Council of Research, Pavia
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Summary

Analysis of the data from the tenth Italian census shows that women born to older fathers tend to marry older men. The correlations between the ages of the father and the husband in various situations were always found to be positive and significant when the age of the woman and her educational level were held constant. Correlation coefficients are higher in rural and economically less developed areas. Behavioural ‘imprinting’ is suggested as a possible explanation.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 13 , Issue 4 , October 1981 , pp. 409 - 418
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1981

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References

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