Effects of sexual imprinting on partner preference for personality traits in Chinese gay men

Abstract

Sexual imprinting refers to the phenomena where an individual's mate selection behavior is influenced by the characteristics of their parents in the early stages of life. Previous studies revealed that heterosexual men and women prefer partners with personality traits similar to their opposite-sex parents, indicating the sexual imprinting effects in personality preferences. This study aims to examine whether there are sexual imprinting effects on partner preferences for personality traits in gay men. We tested whether parent-child relationship in childhood (before 12 years old) and/or adolescence (12–18 years old) moderated the sexual imprinting effects. Participants (N = 311) were asked to assess their parents' and ideal partner's Big Five personality traits and gender roles, respectively. The parent-child relationships in childhood and adolescence were also assessed. The results revealed that gay men's ideal partner's traits were similar to their fathers' traits for emotional stability, similar to their mothers' traits for agreeableness and openness, and similar to both their fathers' and mothers' traits for conscientiousness. The ideal partners' gender roles were similar to both mothers' and fathers' instrumentality and expressiveness. The relationship quality with the mother in childhood modulated the mating effects in conscientiousness and expressiveness. The relationship quality with the father in adolescence modulated the mating effects in masculine instrumentality. The findings indicated the sexual imprinting effects on partner preference for personality traits in gay men and both father's and mother's personality traits in shaping gay's partner preference.