Assortative Mating Patterns Based on Longitudinal Trajectories of Personality Traits and Relationship-Specific Characteristics

Abstract

This research examined potential matching patterns between romantic partners in Big Five personality traits and relationship-specific characteristics such as attachment orientations, caregiving systems, conflict resolution, partner responsiveness, and trust. We analyzed two existing longitudinal studies that had complementary samples: 184 couples who had dated for less than one year and 168 married or cohabiting couples across the first two years of parenthood. We found evidence for assortative mating across various relationship-specific characteristics both at baseline and longitudinally, which were often stronger in magnitude than assortment based on Big Five traits. However, couples often perceived each other to be more similar than their actual similarity indicated. Further, there was little evidence to support the benefits of between-partner similarity for relationship quality after controlling for actor and partner effects of both partners’ score levels on each construct. We highlighted the importance of including personality assessments beyond one-time, self-reported measures of Big Five traits in investigating assortative mating processes.