Acculturation and mate selection preferences among Asian-Indians in the United States

Abstract

In the psychological literature little has been written about Asian-Indians residing in the United States. Still, previous writers have noted that conflicts between parents and offspring in this population frequently revolve around issues of dating and mate selection. In the current study, I investigated the relationship between acculturation and mate selection preferences among Asian-Indians in the United States. The hypothesis was that respondents who spent their childhood in India would demonstrate Eastern mate selection preferences regardless of degree of acculturation, whereas for respondents who spent their childhood in the United States, acculturation would be predictive of mate selection preferences. Results revealed that generation and acculturation were too highly related to consider them as independent constructs. Therefore, the original hypotheses could not be tested. Factor analysis revealed that the mate selection characteristics loaded onto eight factors. Acculturation was inversely related to emphasis on traditional Eastern social status characteristics in a potential mate. Results are discussed with regard to implications for counseling and future research.