Qualities of Desired Spouse: A Cross-Cultural Comparison Between French and American College Students

Abstract

Through factor analyses, the nine most potent dimensions of marital expectation for an American and a French college sample were obtained. A comparison of the factorial structure of American and French men showed moderate to high similarity. The American and French women also showed dimensional similarity though there was greater divergence in the variance accounted for by similarly labeled factors. The item by item comparison between the two samples put the differences between them into sharper relief. Compared to the American men, the French men wanted a wife who was sexier, and higher on aggression, pragmatism, egalitarianism, and social adequacy. Moreover, she would be less idealized, conventional, and respectful to authority. The differences between French women and American women were almost identical to the differences found between the two male samples. Because of the differences in the nature of the sampling, generalization was eschewed pending further data.