Discrepancies in Mate Preferences among Chinese Families between Fathers, Mothers, and Children: A Latent Profile Analysis.

Abstract

Parents develop their own preferences regarding prospective in-laws, which influence their children's mate selection processes and outcomes. From an evolutionary perspective, fathers, mothers, and their offspring have partially divergent genetic interests, potentially leading to conflicts in mate preferences. Currently, the characteristics of discrepancy profiles in mate preferences within Chinese families and their influencing factors remain unclear. Adopting an individual-centered perspective, this study examined the profiles of discrepancies in mate preferences between fathers, mothers, and children across a diverse set of Chinese families, along with their associations with family relations and evaluations of children. This study recruited 337 complete families. The results revealed three distinct profiles of father-mother mate preference discrepancies in families with sons and four profiles in families with daughters. Additionally, both families with sons and daughters displayed three profiles of discrepancies in parent-child mate preferences. Parental perceptions of marital relationships and their evaluations of children were linked to diverse father-mother discrepancy profiles in both families with sons and daughters. The father-son relationship was associated with the profiles of parent-child discrepancies in families with sons, while maternal evaluations of children and daughters' self-evaluations were related to the profiles of parent-child discrepancies in families with daughters. This study provides insights into understanding the conflict patterns and underlying reasons regarding mate preference between Chinese parents and their children within family settings.