Similar From the Start: Assortment in Young Adult Dating Couples and Its Link to Relationship Stability Over Time
Author(s): April Bleske-Rechek, Mark W. Remiker, Jonathan P. Baker
Abstract: Past research on married couples has documented positive assortment on cognitive abilities, attractiveness and physical features, attitudes and values, and, to a lesser degree, personality. In the current study, we proposed that if partners mate assortatively rather than converge over time, then assortative mating coefficients for dating couples should be similar in magnitude to those found for married couples. Second, as per filter models of relationship development, we hypothesized that similarity in dating partners' political and religious attitudes (as opposed to personality) would be associated with staying together over time. With a sample of 51 heterosexual dating couples, we found a pattern of assortative mating coefficients that mirrored the pattern found among married couples. As expected, couples still together at the 11-month follow-up had more similar attitudes at study onset compared to those who had broken up.
Pages: 142-158
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