Social Construction of Mate Preferences in Young Indian Adults

Research has shown that mate selection preferences of individuals are influenced by their culture, family-of-origin and other systems they belong to. However, there is a gap in the literature examining how these preferences might have been socially constructed by the culture an individual belongs to or whether these social constructions differ from one culture to another. In this paper, the authors propose an assessment model, The Model for Assessment of Indian Mate Expectation (MAIME), based on Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory, which will help clinicians work with Indian clients to deconstruct their mate preferences and identify unique aspects of Indian culture that have created their dominant stories of each other. The authors believe that individuals' mate selection preferences will have a significant impact on their marital satisfaction if they believe their partner has not met their expectations.