'What is the maximum age difference you think that is OK in a relationship?' My young co-actress asked another co-acter while we were in rehearsal. He was in his 60's, she was barely 16 or just passed her sweet 16 birthday. She was acting as my wife in the play, yes older than her real age but you should see her in makeup, so understandably I was startled! But he had the experience, he had been married for 20 years or so to a woman 15 years younger than him. This made me think, what is that maximum age difference if there is such a thing. Or can we claim love comes regardless and age should not be an issue.

The question came back to haunt me as I befriended a lady in her early 40's who was married young, so she had daughters of the yummy age between 16-18. Showing slight interest in the daughters made her angry that how come a man thinking of a girl 10 years plus younger than him. Considering that she had been hinting to an affair for sometime, it made me all wonder if it is OK for her to think of an affair with a man 10 years plus younger is OK whilst that man thinking of her daughters is not. Her reasoning is that the age difference effect differ at the younger years to the later in life. She had the experience of falling for a man 12 years her senior when she was a teenager and does not want her daughters to repeat the mistake! But was it a mistake or some people have the tendency to fall in love with people considerably older or younger than them? Perhaps there is the tendency to fall in love with what we would like to be or go back and re-live. However, this is not our question.

The question is the age difference and its impact on relationships. There are multiple dimensions to this question: psychological, sociological, and physiological, to mention as far as my interest goes. Sociological and physiological are the most apparent. Psychological impact differ from person to person and depends on the psychological composition of the people involved at the start. Psychological dimension would require an article by itself. Subsequently, I am neglecting this dimension for now.

Sociologically, the perception of people we know and care for their opinion would impact greatly on the relationship from the starting involuntary words 'Isn't s/he too old for you?'. These words may even come from the most supportive family and friends. The sociological impact, however, can be identified in two situations that could have great psychological implications. First

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