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Asian-American Dating

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A key disagreement between Asian-American parents and their children is the precise age to start dating. Parents and children also differ greatly when it comes to singling out the appropriate pool of prospective partners. The traits of a romantic partner also differ widely especially on the appropriate religious or cultural background. Shenhav, Campos & Goldberg (2016) show that immigrants from collectivistic societies and those of recent immigrant groups to the US often report parental influence on dating choices. This is different from immigrants from individualistic societies as well as later immigrant generations born within the US. Nevertheless, young people from the same collectivist societies (especially Chinese-Americans among Asian-Americans) …show more content…

Generally, the young are more accommodative to dating outside their own ethnic and cultural groups. This is despite strongly held beliefs contrary to this among their parents. Shenhav, Campos & Goldberg (2016) show that a sizeable majority of individuals between the ages of 18 and 29 are more likely to accept family members married to individuals from a different ethnic or cultural group. However, this is not the case for individuals between the ages of 50-60. As such, there’s a glaring intergenerational gap that translates into starkly different perceptions of preferred mates for Asian Americans. In the case of Asian Americans ethnicities matter more than religion (Witt, Murray & Kim, 1992; Blair & Madigan, …show more content…

For instance, the social dynamics of the Chinese culture are deeply connected to several long-standing traditions that form its basis. The major traditions in this category include Confucian ideology and ancestor worship. From this particular perspective, continuity of family lineage and filial piety are imperative. As such, marriage, as the ultimate goal for intimate relationships is necessary especially for males. This is reflected in the cultural trait identified as ‘Xiao’ which fundamentally denotes filial piety. This tradition obligates children to devote their lives to their parents and family without question. This is especially emphasized for male children who must take care of their parents especially in old age (Chang, 2010). This however creates potential conflict between sons and their parents whereby they must overcome immense pressure in negotiating identification and selection of suitable wives. Furthermore, China has always been a quintessentially collectivistic culture. As such, social institutions and societal needs are considered more crucial than individual needs and traits. This is a unique quality of mate selection when compared to the practice in individualistic societies where individual needs supersede

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