Men Marry Women Akin To Their Mothers

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A new study has established the truth of the old adage that men tend to marry women who resemble their mothers.

A study of young men, who earn high salaries and have graduate degrees, revealed that they were more likely to marry women who have been educated to the same level as their mothers.

According to the University of Iowa study, those brought up by a working mother were also far more likely to marry someone with a well paid job. It found that 80 per cent of the high-achieving men whose mothers had college degrees, tied the knot with women educated to a similar level, while 62 per cent of them agreed with the statement, ''Smart women make better mothers.''

''These young men look up to their mothers as role models,'' said sociologist Christine Whelan, an author of the study. ''When they make their own choices about someone who they think will be a good wife or a good mother in the future, they go back to their wedding,'' he noted.

Although the survey was focused on high-earners, the phenomenon is expected to apply more generally, with men of all incomes being influence by their mother's attitude towards work and education, the researchers observed.