Opposites Attract But Like-Minded Couples' Unions Last

They say opposites attract, but a new research has challenged this notion by suggesting that like minds have a much better chance of getting married and living happily ever after.

According to the study, couples stay together longer if they share some common ground.

Beatrice Rammstedt of the Centre for Survey Research and Methodology in Mannheim, Germany, and Jurgen Schupp of the German Institute for Economic Research in Berlin looked at the "big five" personality traits in over 6000 couples in Germany.

The analysis of the report found that people chose partners who were similar to themselves in terms of agreeableness, conscientiousness and openness, while extroversion and emotional stability were unrelated to partner choice.

The study has been published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences.

People in long-lasting marriages had particularly similar levels of agreeableness and conscientiousness, suggesting that couples with these traits in common are more likely to stand the test of time.

According to Schupp, if you differ in this respect you are more likely to separate.

Sanjay Srivastava, a psychologist at the University of Oregon in Eugene, offers an alternative explanation.

"Perhaps the longer couples stay together, the more they grow alike," New Scientist quoted him, as saying.